Living In Legend
by Individual-9086
Summary: James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily entered into Hogwarts school without knowing the horrible fates that lay before them. This is story of how one messy-haired Maruader fell for a red head named Lily.
1. Book 1 Chapter 1

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 1- Jitters and Feuds**

* * *

The first hints of dawn began to twinkle against the still dark sky, and Lily Evans was already on her way downstairs.  
  
Her footfall was light and her tone joyous as she greeted her mother, who was slaving over the stove with a cheerful: "Hi mom!"  
  
Her mom jumped.,"Lily! Shouldn't you be asleep?"  
  
Lily smiled exuberantly, "How could I sleep on a day like this?"  
  
Rebecca Evans only smiled. It had been a while since her youngest daughter had joined them for breakfast. Lily was the type of girl who always slept in.  
  
"Oh I just feel like there is so much to do," moaned Lily rapturously, flopping carelessly into a wooden dining chair. "I can't believe that today will be my first day at Hogwarts!"  
  
"Honey, the train does not leave until noon, you have six hours," Rebecca assured her daughter. "Why don't you just relax a little. I'm sure everything will go great. You are all packed already and you have all of your supplies. Just enjoy the company of your family while it lasts."  
  
Lily grimaced at her mother's lecture, but the expression only lasted a moment. She was far too caught up in the splendor of the morning to be much perturbed about anything.  
  
Still, six-thirty was extremely early for Lily to be up. Even Petunia wasn't awake yet.  
  
Lily kept glancing at the window, waiting for the usual tap which indicated her mail had arrived. The day after her letter had arrived, Rebecca had taken Lily to Diagon Alley, to purchase her supplies. Doting on her daughter as usual, she had even bought her an owl, whom Lily had named Lothlorien, after a mythical place she had read about in a book.  
  
"Where is Lothlorien?" Lily wondered aloud.  
  
"He is used to your sleeping habits darling, you can't expect him to know that you felt like getting up early this morning," her mother soothed her.  
  
Lily sighed, twisting impatiently in the uncomfortable wooden chair. After a few moments, she muttered something about double checking her luggage and ran upstairs noisily.  
  
"LILY!" Petunia's voice drifted up the stairway, obviously annoyed by the clatter of her younger sister's footfall.  
  
"Chill out Petunia! All I did was walk up the stairs!" Lily screamed back almost impassively. She was not in the mood to fight with Petunia on such an important day.  
  
Lily sorted through her bag twice before her mother called her down for breakfast.  
  
Her father Tom, and Petunia were already at the table when she arrived downstairs. Her father shot her an odd glance, "Lily I'm surprised you are up so early."  
  
Lily shrugged and Petunia glared, her hair a sleepy mess. Lily stared at her for a moment. It was a rare occasion when Petunia didn't look absolutely perfect. She would not even leave the house without her nose powdered and her hair perfectly curled.  
  
Petunia was the beauty of the family. Lily had been told she was pretty, but her wild red curls and vivid green eyes were not classic features, and were no rivals to her big sister's perfect blond hair and blue eyes. Rebecca had once commented that Lily was fire, while Petunia was ice.  
  
"What are you staring at me for?" asked Petunia coldly through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.  
  
Lily spoke impetuously, "It looks like you are wearing a wig."  
  
"Lily!" her mother admonished. "Stop teasing your sister and eat your eggs."   
  
Lily could barely pick at her breakfast as she was too worried and excited about the day to come.  
  
Tom finished his breakfast quickly but sat around conversing with his daughters and picking at Lily's own plate, which remained barely touched.  
  
"Tom," Rebecca interceded, collecting the dishes from the table, "stop pestering the girls and go get the newspaper."  
  
Her husband laughed at his wife's astuteness, but did as he was told, leaving only the two girls at the table.  
  
At that moment, a tawny brown owl swooped over the table and landed on the arm of Lily's chair.  
  
"Lothlorien!" Lily shouted in joy, collecting her copy of the wizarding newspaper from her owl's talons.  
  
Petunia, on the other hand, looked absolutely horrified and swatted at the bird with her napkin. "Get that filthy thing away from my breakfast!" she shrieked.  
  
Lothlorien flapped his wings in a frenzy, frightened by Petunia's wild cries. Lily pulled the bird away from her sister, cooing to him in a soft voice.   
  
She fed the bird a bit of her toast, ignoring Petunia's complaints about the 'disgusting creature' and took him upstairs to his perch, clutching her copy of the daily prophet in the crook of her arm.  
  
Lily settled down on her bed, contented to spend some time reading this magical newspaper. She would never consider reading an ordinary newspaper, that seemed an activity reserved for the very old and the very boring. Lily was neither. But the Daily Prophet, was filled with moving pictures and stories about all sorts of interesting things.  
  
"Unforgivable curse leaves two wizards dead," read the headline of article on the front page.   
  
Below it was a picture of several wizards examining what appeared to be an illusion floating in midair. the illusion depicted a skull with a snake head coming out of it.  
  
Lily read on in fascination and horror at the deaths of the two men.   
  
"Aurors have attributed the crime to the dark wizard known as Voldemort, the same wizard who was responsible for the death of young Tom Riddle, only last month."  
  
Lily read the entire article in fascination, before moving on to "Which witch bewitches brooms?" which she found just as interesting.  
  
By ten o'clock, Lily had showered and gotten dressed, as well as finishing the Daily Prophet and re-packing her suitcase almost ten times. She stood pacing back and forth across the living room.  
  
"Lily Darling, if you are going to make a nuisance of yourself, why don't you help me dust the cupboards?"  
  
Lily groaned, she hated cleaning, but complied against her wishes.  
  
At eleven o'clock, she said good-bye to Petunia, who answered rather coldly, and left for the station with her mother and father.

* * *

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Lily protested as her mother tearfully kissed her goodbye outside of the station.  
  
"I know honey, but I am not going to see you until Christmas, so I have a right to embarrass you."  
  
"Uh, where exactly is this platform 9 and ¾?" Tom spoke up, looking curiously at Lily's ticket.  
  
"What?" Lily's mom screeched. "Let me see that."  
  
She examined the ticket for a moment, at a loss for words.  
  
Lily had a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if this was all some sick joke?   
  
Just as she was about to give up hope, she noticed a dark haired bespectacled boy toting a cart with an owl perched on it. She grinned and ran over to him.  
  
"Hey, are you going to Hogwarts?" she asked him vibrantly.  
  
The boy nodded, looking her up and down.  
  
"Then you know where the platform is, nine and three quarters?" her voice came out hesitant.  
  
"Yes of course. You simply have to walk through the barrier. It's not very hard at all, but only students can get through," he explained, glancing back at her parents.  
  
Lily was skeptical. "Are you sure? You do it then."  
  
The boy grinned. "I'm waiting for somebody. Just watch her."   
  
He pointed at a girl, laden down with luggage who was jogging towards one of the barriers, the one directly between platforms nine and ten. One second the girl was there, and then she just blended into the wall.  
  
Lily gasped.   
  
"Go ahead. Any platform will work. Just remember to do it at a bit of a run."  
  
Lily thanked him and said goodbye one final time to her parents, who made her promise to write often before leaving to the car.  
  
She watched her parents until they disappeared from sight. Taking a deep breath she jogged towards the nearest platform, shutting her eyes as she gained speed and approached the barrier.  
  
Her cart collided with such force that it slammed against her and knocked her to the pavement, the wind gone from her lungs.  
  
Passers by were laughing and muttering about stupid kids and their dumb stunts.  
  
As soon as Lily recovered her breath, she felt a wave of horror rise up through her stomach. the boy had said only wizards could pass through, suppose she wasn't really magic at all, and it had all been some mistake.  
  
Lily was crying, as much from humiliation as pain. A large cut had formed on her lip, where the handle of the cart had slammed into it.  
  
The boy stood laughing at her a few feet away.  
  
"Child, are you okay?" an elderly lady helped her up.  
  
Lily nodded slowly, grateful Lothlorien hadn't fallen off the cart.  
  
"You were headed towards the wrong barrier. That is the one you need to go through." the woman pointed towards the middle barrier which the older girl had passed through. "Don't you worry about it though. Your fine. This is my granddaughter Brittany." she motioned towards a blond girl who was standing beside her smiling. "It's her first year too."  
  
"I'm Lily Evans."  
  
The woman helped her load up her cart once more, and then gave her a handkerchief to press to her lips. Lily stopped crying, glaring suddenly at the boy who had mislead her. He was now talking with another boy, who didn't seem to appreciate the prank quite as much as the first.  
  
Lily wiped her tears from her face and took a moment to compose herself. "Will you hold on for a second?" she asked the woman who had helped her politely before marching off towards the horrible boy.  
  
"How could you do that to me?"  
  
He laughed, "I didn't mean to hurt you, but that was so funny! You have to admit it was great."  
  
You are the meanest, most selfish, horrible and immature person I have ever met and I hope you die!" Lily raged, showing her true red-headed temper. She ended her little spiel by passionately slapping him across the face, and leaving the flustered boys to walk calmly back over to the Brittany and her grandmother.  
  
"Thanks for helping me," she stated serenely.  
  
The grandmother stared at her for a moment, and then just laughed. "Well, I have never seen a child like you before, Lily. Isn't it great to be young and hot tempered?"  
  
Lily couldn't help but smile. Her second time going through the barrier was much smoother, although she did flinch when it seemed like she would hit it.

* * *

Lily sat next to Brittany on the train, who was full of light-hearted babble. Brittany lived with her grandmother, who was also a witch, and she told Lily all about the spells she had seen her grandmother use and the few that she actually knew.  
  
Lily was surprised that Brittany was almost as fascinated with her as she was with Brittany. Brittany called her a muggle, a word that meant non-magic folk, and seemed very interested in things that to Lily seemed quite boring and mundane.  
  
After a while, the two girls closed off the compartment and changed into their robes.  
  
Once, the boy Lily had slapped walked through the compartment and she turned her head and pretended to ignore him. Brittany identified him as James.  
  
When he had left, she seethed about him to her new found friend.  
  
Brittany was very talkative and got more and more hyper as the trip wore on. At one point, she stood and showed Lily a cheer that she had learned at a cheerleading camp over the summer. Lily laughed at the girl's peppy attitude, and found herself enjoying Brittany's company immensely.

* * *

Eventually, the train was unloaded. The journey had seemed very quick, although it was already dark outside. Lily and Brittany had kept themselves busy on the ride.  
  
As they exited the train, all of the first years were herded off in one direction, towards a glimmering lake overshadowed by a magnificent castle off in the distance, the lights looming over the lake, casting their luminous reflections in the dark water.  
  
Lily shared a boat with Brittany and the two girls had to paddle very hard to cross the lake.   
  
At one point their boat lined up with the two boys from before and Brittany waved to them. Lily slapped down her hand, "What are you doing?" she hissed.  
  
The boys waved back and splashed them lightly with water from their oars.  
  
Angry, Lily smacked her paddle against the surface of the lake, spraying a huge gust of freezing cold water into their boat.  
  
The boys shouted and one of the prefects, who had taken the journey along with the first years, tried to absolve the situation. His attempts to literally calm the waters, failed miserably. His words went unnoticed.  
  
The dark messy haired boy who had lied to her earlier, smacked down on the water even harder. Lily stood up in rage, despite Brittany's protests, the boat shook under her wildly.   
  
"Lily, you're going to fall out! Sit back down!" Brittany cried.  
  
Lily tried, as she noticed the rocking of the tiny vessel, but just as she started to lower herself, another wavy of icy lake water sent her way by the boys in the next boat caused her to lose her balance.   
  
Lily screamed as she toppled over the edge of the boat, pulling it upside-down in her wake. She plummeted downwards, frantically fighting her way through the cold lake. Brittany had already surfaced, but Lily did not know how to swim.  
  
She clawed her way through the water, once bobbing above the level, thrashing about violently, before sinking back down, gasping for air. Lily swallowed more than a healthy amount of water, and went unconscious for a moment.  
  
Luckily, something soft and gigantic reached up an oversized tentacle and pushed the little girl back to the surface.  
  
Brittany, who had just managed to flip the boat right-side-up, screamed in horror as the tentacle pushed Lily's lifeless body to the surface.  
  
James pulled Lily into his boat, as she had resurfaced right by him, waves of guilt and anger running through his body.   
  
"You killed her!" Brittany yelled, weeping. "It's your fault James!"  
  
All the students were looking back and yelling and some were crying. the prefects were calling for order, frantic for control of the situation.  
  
A moment later, Lily began sputtering and coughing in James' lap. He held her head forward so she could cough the water out of her lungs, pounding her soundly on the back as she began to choke on it. As soon as she regained control of her breathing, she shoved him away, shivering intensely, Lily sat as far as she could from James.  
  
"Are you all right?" the other boy asked.  
  
"Well other than being completely soaked, having a cut lip, and having nearly drowned, just to be pulled up and hit on the back by an idiot, I'm fine." Lily replied icily.  
  
"Hey, don't blame me, that was all James. I am the innocent one, for once. My name is Sirius by the way. Sirius Black." he introduced himself, sticking out a hand pretentiously.  
  
Lily laughed despite herself. they did look a ridiculous lot, all of them were soaked and James had a bit of seaweed in his hair.  
  
When they arrived on shore, Lily exited the boat quickly, glaring at James with every ounce of hatred in her body.  
  
The prefects were scurrying about worrying to themselves about the nearly averted disaster.  
  
The castle was even more beautiful on the inside. Elaborate paintings decorated the halls and to Lily's surprised, they moved about, chatting amongst themselves about the new students. Moving suits of armor walked around clankikly and an occasional ghost floated by and shocked the first years into fits of subsequent screams and giggles.  
  
Lily felt as if she had just entered a new and magical world. 


	2. Book 1 Chapter 2

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 2- Singing Hats and Luxurious Surroundings**

* * *

All eyes in the hall were fixed on the timid procession of first years walking slowly in clumps into the room to be sorted. Special attention was paid to one fiery-headed little girl, whispering bitterly to her friend. Both girls were drenched beyond belief, and the older students chuckled, wondering if the girls had fallen into the lake.  
  
The first years gathered around as Albus Dumbledore, with his long brown grey-streaked beard, rose and delivered a worn pointed hat to the center of the room. He smiled, placing the shriveled old hat on a stool. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Well, enough with the babble, it is time for the first years to be sorted into their houses. Let the sorting begin."  
  
A witch stood with a long parchment floating before her.  
  
Lily looked around in amazement. Everyone was dressed in black robes with pointed hats to match. the whole room looked like something out of a storybook, with the floating candles and dark starry looking sky.  
  
The hat began singing once complete silence had been achieved, its folds moving as if it were a mouth. Lily watched in amazement as the hat carried out a lovely song, describing qualities looked for in each of the houses. Lily felt a bit nervous, she was none to confident about her abilities to be in any of the houses. If only there were a house for people with very short tempers and very wet hair then that would be the house for her.  
  
Aslada Acada was the first student called. A little black haired witch made her way up to the stool. She lifted the hat gingerly as she sat upon the wooden seat, placing the cap on her head. She sat in silence for a few moments and then the hat called out, "Slytherin!"  
  
Cheers erupted from the furthest table. the girl grinned proudly and slid over to the Slytherin table to join her new house.  
  
Kasey Aratle became a Hufflepuff, and Charlie Banter became the first Ravenclaw.  
  
"Sirius Black," read the teacher mechanically.   
  
James's friend stood and approached the stool solemnly. the hat was on his head only a moment before calling out, "Gryffindor!"  
  
The table cheered so loudly that Lily felt her ears would split.  
  
The list progressed rapidly. Lily wished she her last name started with a nice W, or maybe even a Z. Carmichle was called out, then Celeste. then came Culdor, and Damir. then Dawson, Dennings and Durlson.  
  
Lily was shaking by the time the first E was called out. "Elisabeth Ester" was made a Gryffindor.  
  
When her own name was called out, Lily approached the stool, soggy and shaking, her wet hair drying in red curly strands.  
  
As soon as the hat was on her head, she heard it speaking, "hmm . . . a good mind, you seem a pretty hard worker, and a bit determined as well. Odd, you have just a touch of bravery. Well, better be, GRYFFINDOR!" only the last word was shouted, or spoken aloud.  
  
Lily barely realized that the hat had been speaking only in her mind, she barely noticed the cheers she was receiving from the Gryffindor table. She only noticed her feet, carrying her towards the table.  
  
She found herself sitting next to Sirius, the only other person she knew at this table. He grinned at her, and she smiled back vaguely, deciding not to blame him for James' idiocy.  
  
She listened as the called out Brittany Jacobs and wished vigorously in her head that her friend would join her house. When the hat called out Gryffindor, Lily practicality jumped out of her seat, cheering as loud as she could.  
  
Remus Lupin was also made a Gryffindor, as well as Jackie Lyda, Shane Montgomery, Dora Odell, Travis Patrick and Peter Pettigrew. When James Potter's name was called out. Lily became just as twitchy, hoping desperately that he would not be placed in her house.  
  
The hat was on his head for only a split second before calling out his house, at which Lily groaned. James strutted over to the table with a confident air, despite his dripping clothing and ridiculous hair.  
  
He sat down across from Lily and Sirius, next to the boy name Remus. Lily made it a point to roll her eyes and groan loudly as he sat down, expressing her discontent for the arrangement. She scarcely paid attention to the rest of the names as they were called out, wallowing in self pity at being in the same house as her worst enemy.  
  
When Dumbledore spoke, announcing the start of the feast, her spirits were considerably raised, especially when mounds of all of her favorite dishes appeared in front of her plate.   
  
Lily stuffed herself thoroughly and then belched for good measure.  
  
Brittany followed suit.  
  
"That was pathetic," James addressed them.   
  
"And I suppose you can do better?" Brittany inquired, as Lily pretended to ignore him.  
  
James didn't answer, except by letting out a burp loud enough to send disgusted looks his way from the majority of the upperclassmen.

* * *

Lily sank down into the soft feather bed, sighing luxuriously. This bed by itself made up for all the unpleasantries and misfortunes of the day. the blankets were dark maroon and gold, the Gryffindor colors, and long draperies hung down from the top of the canopy bed, providing privacy as well as comfort.  
  
There were seven other girls sleeping in the same room as Lily. At home she had never shared a room with Petunia. They would surely tear each other apart if that happened.  
  
All of the girls in this room were first year Gryffindors. Lily recited their names under her breath, "Brittany Jacobs, Elisabeth Ester, Jackie Lyda, Dora Odell, Lynette Robins, Wilma Whittaker and Lily Evans," she whispered, adding her own name at the end just for good measure.  
  
She already knew she would love it here, despite horrible James. The place was wonderful. Lily hated James so much for ruining her first day. But she looked forward to her next with all of her heart.

* * *

For the first week Lily wandered around lost through the castle trying her hardest to be on time for her classes.  
  
In fact, it pleased her a great deal that she seemed to have less navigation problems than James, who relied on Remus, a quiet Gryffindor recruit, to lead him around the castle.  
  
Lily found all of her subjects fascinating, and to her relief she was not very far behind the other students, even those who came from wizarding families. Dora Odell, who came from a muggle family as well, became fast friends with Lily.  
  
Dora, however, did not catch on so quickly during the lessons.  
  
"Oh you guys have no idea how lucky you are that you are not dunces, like me," she said one day to Brittany and Lily in charms class with Professor Felman.  
  
"You are not a dunce Dora. People just learn at different rates, that's all. You'll pick it up in time," Lily had reassured her. But secretly, Lily had her doubts whether Dora's entering Hogwarts had been a good idea. The girl displayed absolutely no magical talent.  
  
Lily, Sirius and James could already turn their quill tips gold, to the happiness of Professor Felman. they always seemed to be competing for the head of the class.  
  
Lily had hoped that James would find himself particularly inept at least one of the subjects, but he seemed very receptive to magic, just like Lily.  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts would have been Lily's favorite subject, had it not been for the fact that James was the best at it. This was the one subject where he stood unparalleled at the top of the class.  
  
The professor who taught defense against the dark arts was a short little witch with strawberry blond hair and freckles covering her pale face. Lily felt she had very much in common with Professor Lacy, what with her own freckled face and red hair.  
  
All the students enjoyed this class because of it's hands-on nature. In the first week, they had learned how to control Hinkly-Punks, which were tiny little knome-like creatures, and then demonstrated before the class. the were next beginning a study of pixies. the boys sneered at this lesson plan at first, but that was before Professor Lacy set one loose. the pixie wreaked havoc for nearly ten minutes, before the boys gave in and admitted they needed to learn about pixies, and allowed the teacher to demonstrate how to subdue one.  
  
In transfiguration, the students were learning how to change the texture of a piece of cloth. Brittany found it a rather boring lesson, but Lily couldn't get enough of anything having to do with magic.  
  
The transfiguration teacher was Professor Wardric, an obesely huge gentlemen with a kindly heart, who often called his students, "honeys". Prof Wardric had a sense of humor about his weight, and constantly joked about it, much to the confusion of the students.  
  
But by far, Lily's most hated class was Potions, with the Slytherins which was taught by a horrible witch named Professor Ludwick. Professor Ludwick was the head of the Slytherin house, and was terribly biased, constantly subtracting points from Gryfinndor.  
  
Worst of all, Ludwick had assigned Lily and James as lab partners, forcing them to share a cauldron.  
  
The two students constantly fought to overshadow each other's efforts, and very often ended up ruining their potions because of their constant bickering.  
  
While the Gryffindors got along well with most of the other houses, the Slytherins were none too pleasant to be around.   
  
One day in potions, Lily and James were fighting over how much root of asphodel was needed for a mild sleeping draught.  
  
They didn't notice Lucius Malfoy approaching. Lucius was a pale, blond haired Slytherin boy who was constantly surrounded by another sneering boy named Terrence Pickle.  
  
"Well well, if isn't Potter and his little girlfriend," cooed Malfoy, in a snide tone. Malfoy and James seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot the very first day, even more so than Lily and James.  
  
"She's not my girlfriend," James said sharply at the same time as Lily muttered a similar remark.  
  
Malfoy sneered unpleasantly, making his white face appear more drawn than ever. "Well at least you have the sense not to date a mudblood."  
  
Lily just stared at him, not comprehending the word, but James leapt out of his seat and his fist shot out, catching Malfoy in the nose.  
  
Malfoy leaped forward, his hand wrapping around James' neck in a death grip, but Ludwick pulled him off, his face stern.  
  
"I will not tolerate fighting in this classroom," Professor Ludwick announced, his eyes blazing. "Potter, twenty points from Gryffindor for attacking Malfoy."   
  
The teacher then turned to glance at Lucius, but declined to speak further, the Slytherins remained un-punished.  
  
Remus stood quietly and spoke in a soft and serious voice, "He was provoked, Professor Ludwick. Malfoy called Lily a mudblood."  
  
Ludwick turned on Remus, "ten more points from Gryffindor for your vulgar language, Lupin."  
  
Sirius, who was Remus' lab partner stood at this, his outrage plain on his face. "Hey, Lucius was the one who said it!"  
  
"And Lupin was the one I heard," Ludwick finished.  
  
Lily couldn't believe a Hogwarts teacher could be so unfair. But she didn't protest, she was still a bit confused from Malfoy's strange comment.   
  
Lily turned to Sirius. "What is a mudblood anyway?" she asked him once the professor had left.  
  
Sirius scowled. "A mudblood is a fowl term that some wizards use for wizards of muggle descent."  
  
"Is it that bad then?" Lily still didn't understand why James had hit him, it had almost seemed like her enemy was defending her.   
  
Sirius nodded, "the worst."  
  
Lily reminded herself that James hated Malfoy. the only reason he had stood up for her was that one hatred had overshadowed the other. Still, it felt odd to be on the same side as James for once, they were almost allies.  
  
From behind them, came a snigger. James darted around quickly, and came face to face with a pale, oily haired boy, who seemed several sizes too small for his robes.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" James growled.  
  
The boy hesitated. "Nothing that is your business," he finally said coldly. His nose seemed to be running a bit. The boy sniffled, making him look quite pathetic.  
  
"I know you," Sirius interrupted, looking at the sniffling boy. "Your name is Severus Snape. Though I must say, Snivellus is more like it!"  
  
Severus glared, but just then Ludwick came by and James and Sirius were forced to turn back around.

* * *

The newfound tolerance in which Lily and James held each other was shattered only a few hours later, when James thought it would be funny to slip some of the flobberworms they had been working with in herbology into Lily's spaghetti.   
  
Lily was horrified, and screamed so loud the entire school had looked at them, laughing at the comical scene. Unfortunely for the culprit of that gruesome prank, Lily's shock did not last long. When she recovered from her initial surprise, James found himself with a plate of spaghetti and worms dumped on his head.  
  
Needless to say, the school enjoyed that one.  
  
Brittany and Dora escorted a fuming Lily back to the common room. "Calm down Lily, you got the better end of the prank. James ended up all covered in spaghetti!" Dora tried to persuade her to see the light end of things.  
  
"You don't understand! I hate him!" Lily cried out passionately.  
  
"Oh, he's not that bad," Brittany started to argue until she saw the look on Lily's face, "but he shouldn't have put the flobberworms in your food. He deserved what he got. At least you are even now."  
  
"Oh, we'll never be even!" Lily spoke venomously. "I swear here and now, that James Potter will regret the day he ever decided to get on my bad side!" 


	3. Book 1 Chapter 3

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 3- Crime and Punishment**

* * *

James, Sirius and Remus served their detentions the following week in the Library, cataloguing stray books. Lily had laughed when she heard what they had been assigned. It would take all night to return the thousands of books left here and there throughout the library to their alphabetical places.  
  
The next morning the three-some greeted the girls cheerfully.  
  
"This year we're going to break the record for the most detentions served!" Sirius bragged.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and Brittany scowled.  
  
Just then, a pudgy short little boy named Peter approached, out of breath and gaping at James and Sirius in adoration.  
  
"Hey you guys! I heard about your detention. That Ludwick is so mean! they should fire him they should!" Peter blathered.  
  
"Er, right," James agreed, obviously trying to overlook the boy's obvious tone of admiration.  
  
Lily turned away and faced Brittany and Dora. Brittany was still gazing up at Sirius, who was smiling back at her in a somewhat dazed fashion.  
  
"Brittany, earth to Brit," Lily called, waving a hand in front of her friend's face.   
  
Brittany jumped. "Oh sorry Lil, I guess I just spaced off for a minute."  
  
Lily shrugged. "So anyway, back to the plan," she whispered conspiratorially, being careful not to attract James' attention.  
  
If James noticed anything strange happening with the girls he failed to acknowledge it. Lily did not seem like a serious threat. To James she was only an annoyance. Sirius tried to persuade him to leave her alone, but James insisted that his hatred of all things Lily was to powerful for him to try to make peace. Instead, he began to plan for his next prank.

* * *

One morning, Lily got up early to prepare the potion she had found a recipe for. Potions was Lily's least favorite class, but this particular potion would make the perfect prank. Lily knew that this would make things more even between herself and James.  
  
Once she was finished, she was careful to dispose of the remnants of the potion, after sealing a small amount inside a delicate glass bottle. This stuff was potent all right. A single drop was enough to make a person itch all over for weeks on end. Yes, Lily smiled, the bottle would do.

* * *

If James was looking shifty that morning at breakfast, Lily failed to notice, her own butterflies nearly getting the best of her. It took guts to slip the potion into James' porridge at a moment when he was not looking. Everything went smoothly though. James didn't see a thing, though Sirius had noticed and shot her a funny look.  
  
Lily held her breath, but Sirius held his tongue. He seemed to be fighting back a laugh however.  
  
"Hey Lily, look at that Slytherin over there, I'm thinking of asking her to the ball," James drawled, his untidy hair sticking up on end.  
  
Lily glanced over her shoulder quickly, spotting a tall girl with long blond hair.  
  
"She'll never go for you Potter," she glared. "Besides, first years aren't allowed!"  
  
Brittany seemed to be trying to get Lily's attention, but Sirius motioned for her to be quiet.  
  
"What is it?" Lily asked her friends, confused by their odd behavior.  
  
Glancing at James, she saw him about to take the first bite of his porridge. Lily grinned evilly, lifting her own spoon to her mouth.  
  
Just as she swallowed, Sirius broke into uncontrollable laughter. Lily glanced at James, who was scratching his arm. It was beginning to work. Suddenly it seemed very funny and she started laughing too. James was itching harder and harder, his skin turning red where he scratched.  
  
Lily's shrieks of mirth became hysterical although and she found she could no longer control them. She fell off her seat and began to roll around on the floor, laughing until she couldn't breathe.  
  
"It's a shame they fight so much, they have a lot in common," Brittany commented.  
  
Then, in a moment of clarity, Lily realized that James had slipped something into her porridge at the same time as she had his. these hysterics could not be at all natural, they must be the result of some magic.  
  
All of Lily's muscles clenched up as she rolled on the floor laughing, until her breath refused to come, she began choking as she laughed, unable to draw air into her lungs.   
  
Brittany saw first that it was no longer funny and reached out to help her friend along with Remus. Sirius however was attempting to keep James' fingernails from clawing off anymore skin.  
  
The two students were forcibly escorted to the nurse, Madam Klase, who quickly knocked the duo unconscious until she could brew antidotes.

* * *

Lily and James were both in the hospital wing for two nights. By the second night, Lily was fully conscious, and ignoring James with a vengeance. He tried three times to talk to her, but Lily would just turn her head in disgust.  
  
Lily had cracked three ribs laughing, and James was covered in severe scratches from his desperate itching. He had gruesomely pulled off a great deal of skin.  
  
Worst off all, Lily's treatment involved a serum which made her cough. Each cough was like shooting stabs of agony through her injured ribs.  
  
Lily tried as hard as she could to hide her tears at each cough from her arch-enemy, and James didn't comment once. Her anger only grew as she lay in her bed, silently stewing. Her own discomfort seemed like quite enough grief without the guilt of thinking about what hers had done to James. Both of the potions had gone way out of control, and Madame Klase had hinted that the two of them were in for it.  
  
"Dumbledore will be wanting to see the both of you once you are fit for travel," the plump nurse had warned ominously.  
  
Lily wished she knew more spells. More than anything she wanted to make James' ears fall off or his hair turn green. When finally they were released from the hospital wing, Madame Klase sent them both to Dumbledore.  
  
Professor Lacy escorted the two to a statue of a gargoyle. "Lemondrops," she whispered and the statue swung away to reveal a looming staircase.  
  
Lily followed Potter up the stairs glumly, thinking the only thing worse than being punished, was being punished with James.  
  
The two students found themselves in a massive study, filled with the most wondrous of artifacts. In contrast to the rest of the beautiful room, there sat a weak sickly little bird on a shiny brass perch.  
  
The bird cooed lightly as they entered the room, and them promptly burst into flames.  
  
Lily and James glared at each other. "What did you do?" James accused.  
  
"It wasn't me! You're the one who is closer!"  
  
At that moment a formidable looking man with a long blond beard and thick glasses entered the room, looking at the two students sternly.   
  
"He did it!" Lily burst out at the same time James pointed a finger.  
  
"It was her!" he called in a fearful tone.  
  
Dumbledore only chuckled. "I would be much surprised if either of you harmed my bird, as it is a Phoenix. Phoenixes are known to burst into flame at regular intervals, and are promptly born again from the ashes."  
  
James and Lily stared in amazement as a naked baby bird poked his head from the ashes of the dead phoenixes body. A smaller but much healthier looking bird began to chirp quietly, sifting through the ashes.  
  
"Now then," Dumbledore continued, drawing seats out of nowhere for the two students. "It has come to my attention that the two of you have developed a sort of hostility towards each other."  
  
James shrugged. "She started it you know."  
  
"I did not! You're the one who made me run into the barrier!" Lily's face was red with outrage.  
  
The old wizard paced around to draw a large chair for himself, sitting across from the two students.  
  
"Well, this only proves my point. You two can not stop fighting for an instant. these pranks of yours are getting very out of hand. You are lucky that both of you are alive."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "Come on professor, they are only jokes. I wouldn't actually hurt her."  
  
"Ah, jokes they may be. But either of you could have easily died from those potions. In such concentrations, they can be quite dangerous. I must admit I do not quite understand the animosity between the two of you. It seems you have much in common, poisoning each other at the same time like that. Great minds think alike you know."  
  
Silence filled the room as Dumbledore paused dramatically.  
  
"Perhaps it would be best if you could find a way to absolve your differences. But then again, it is only my job to discourage you from rule breaking. Both of you will receive detentions, which will be spent with Professor Ludwick tomorrow evening after class. I think it may be . . . therapeutic."  
  
To Lily's surprise, Dumbledore stood and offered them a snickerdoodle, off a tray near his desk. Both student accepted, feeling much more comfortable with the headmaster now that they had met him. Indeed, detentions did not seem a very harsh price to be paid after being caught poisoning another student, even if they were with Professor Ludwick.

* * *

Lily commiserated with Brittany and Dora that evening. Brittany could not understand why Lily was so angry with James.  
  
"It is not as if you didn't do the exact same thing. To tell you the truth Lil, you are being a bit of a hypocrite."  
  
Lily glared. "I am not! I don't know why you're taking his side. Maybe someone has a bit of a crush."  
  
Blushing furiously, Brittany glared at Lily. "I do not like James!"   
  
With an infuriating smile, Lily turned. "Whatever you say then."

* * *

As if James and Ludwick were not enough of a punishment, Lily found that her detention would be served along with Terrance and Malfoy, cleaning out the dungeons by hand.  
  
It quickly proved disgusting work. Skeletons of small rodents, lay nestled in the thick dust, grime and cobwebs, along with the occasional spider. Lily feared and hated spiders more than anything in the world, an Terrance and Malfoy quickly picked up on this.  
  
Ludwick favored them terribly, and had set the two boys to the task of "keeping an eye on Lily and James". the two boys had nothing to do, besides wander behind the two Gryffindors and make their lives as miserable as possible.  
  
Once Terrance dropped a spider in Lily's hair, and she screamed shrilly, and began to cry and jump up and down hysterically.  
  
"Get it out! Get it out!"  
  
The two boys only laughed, and James pretended to ignore her. But after a few minutes of Lily's cries, James hastily pulled the large bug from her hair and squished it between two fingers.  
  
"Shut up will you?" he hissed. "Ludwick's sure to have a fit!"  
  
And as if James had brought it on, the potions master appeared from around a corner, smoothly cuffing Lily upside the head. "Stupid girl! Learn to control yourself. Ten points from Gryffindor."  
  
It was tedious work, and Lily had a hard time with the more laborious aspects of it. James had a hard time restraining himself from taking advantage of a scouring spell. He knew that the two Slytherins would be off about it at the first sign of any magic. Yet he still managed to vanish a few rat skeletons while the two were occupied with Lily.  
  
Terrance and Lucius insulted them freely, but the word which had thrown James into a frenzy in Potions was not uttered. James and Lily came up with some hateful words themselves, and for once they were not directed at each other.  
  
One time a live rat scuttled across the stone floor, and Lily jumped about a foot. James grimaced as well but continued to work. Ludwick popped in from time to time and eventually released the Slytherins, but held James and Lily to finish the room.   
  
"I'll be back for you by morning and this place better be spotless!" he had growled menacingly.  
  
When he left, Lily had moaned. "Until morning! This is the worst night of my life!"  
  
James had braced himself, adjusting well to the hideous work load, but Lily had a tendency to burst into tears sporadically, sometimes at the sight of a spider, sometimes for no apparent reason aside from exhaustion and frustration.  
  
But now Ludwick had made a mistake. He had announced that he would not be back until morning.   
  
"Hey Lily," James called softly when he was sure the potions master was gone.  
  
This time she actually responded. "What?"  
  
"Watch this," James recited the scouring spell under his breath and the scum fell from the walls like magic.  
  
It took a few minutes for James to teach the spell to Lily, but it was quick work after that. James banished the rat skeletons with a spell that his mother had taught him to take out the garbage. It came in quite handy now.  
  
Between the two of them, they were finished within the hour.  
  
Lily, still stood warily, leaning against a wall with her eyes wide open for the spiders and rodents which still stalked the dungeons.  
  
"Well now we've got until morning." James glanced at his watch as he spoke, "It's already well past midnight, but we've got a long stretch ahead of us."  
  
He sunk to the floor, and rested his head upon the now clean wall, but Lily was still far too terrified to brave the dark floor. the light was dim in these passages and Lily was sure she would not see any creeping critter until it was too late.  
  
The two Gryffindors were silent, but neither of them slept. Lily's legs cramped up after a while, and her longing for comfort gave in to her fear of spiders. She let out a little moan as she lowered herself to the floor.  
  
"Don't worry, I think the scouring spell got rid of most of the dead ones," James assured her in what was almost a friendly manner.  
  
"It's the live ones I'm worried about," her voice coming out in an odd squeak.  
  
There was silence for a few more minutes before Lily's voice penetrated the darkness once again.  
  
"James?"  
  
"Yes?"   
  
"I'll never poison you again."  
  
"Thanks. I'll never get caught poisoning you again."  
  
Lily started to be angry but a laugh burst through before she could help it. She fought it back and returned to silence.  
  
"We'll have to remember to start cleaning again before Ludwick arrives, so it looks like we still didn't use magic." James spoke after a while.  
  
Almost-friendly conversation drifted back and forth for a while, until despite herself Lily fell asleep. 


	4. Book 1 Chapter 4

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 4- Willows and Snapshots**

* * *

Lily awoke with a start. Looking up, she saw Ludwick's eyes gazing down at her. Potter was already standing up, stretching miserably.  
  
It took Lily a few minutes for her legs to start working, all of her muscles were sore, and she felt as if she had been ran over by the Hogwarts Express.  
  
"Well, well, well." Ludwick drawled. "What have we here. Sleeping on the job I see. Well everything looks clean enough. But where is all the soap? Where are the suds? And the ceilings look far too clean for me to believe you scrubbed them from atop a ladder. Give me your wand Potter!" he ordered suddenly.  
  
The professor thrust out a hand and snatched James wand before he could protest. Touching the tip of the wand to his own, he muttered a charm and a faint shadow of clean walls glimmered from his wand.  
  
"Ah ha," Ludwick tossed the wand back negligently. "It is as I suspected. the two of you purposefully went against my orders and decided to use magic. But I'm afraid you wont get off easily. Another detention for you both. And twenty points from Gryffindor. Each!"  
  
Lily and James groaned simultaneously, and marched back to their dormitories to shower before heading off to breakfast.  
  
They found that the rest of the Gryffindors were quite sympathetic to their plight. To spend a night in the dungeons with Ludwick, only to be given yet another detention! Sirius and Brittany both protested heavily, but in the end they gave up.  
  
"Well, what can you do?" Remus muttered glumly.  
  
It was good luck that Lily and James did not have potions that day, or surely they would have been punished further for their inattentiveness. Both students fell asleep often during classes, scarcely able to pay attention.   
  
They received word of their detentions that night, they were to take place Friday with the gamekeeper Ogg. Though no one knew anything about this mysterious gamekeeper, it was relief to them both that it was not with Ludwick once again.  
  
That night both students fell asleep as soon as they returned to their common room, eager for a good nights rest, and when they awoke, the old loathing of each other seemed to have been replaced by a loathing of all things Terrance and Malfoy.  
  
Along with Sirius, Remus, and Brittany, the two former enemies plotted to get revenge on the troublesome Slytherins. Dora however, would have no part in their mischief.   
  
"Gryffindor is already in last place, thanks to you five! I'm sorry, but I actually would like to win the house cup." Dora had protested.  
  
It was true that the upperclassmen had taken a hatred to the four students for their excessive loss of points for their house.

* * *

Lily was dreading the second detention, convinced that it would be just as gruesome as the first, despite James' assurances that his first detention had not been quite so bad as the one with Ludwick.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily, James and Sirius were still vying for the top marks in classes. Sirius had somehow gained the lead, closely followed by the other two. Somehow the competition was now friendly.  
  
Lily couldn't quite pinpoint it but something had changed between her and James. While they were not friends by any means, they had become reluctant allies against the Slytherin house. the shared bad experience of the dungeon detention had somehow brought about a change in their relationship.

* * *

When James and Lily arrived at the Gamekeeper's hut, they were surprised to find two men, one of whom stepped forward and introduced himself as Ogg. the second man, towered over the first so high that he seemed a giant. It took a few minutes before James and Lily noticed that the giant was not really a full grown man, but only a teenager, some few years older than the students themselves.  
  
"This is my assistant Hagrid," Ogg introduced the extraordinarily tall man without making reference to his amazing height.  
  
Lily just stared, but James eagerly introduced himself and her, and stepped forward to shake both of their hands.  
  
It turned out that the duo would spend the evening caring for a newly planted tree on the Hogwarts grounds, a tree that Ogg called the "Whomping Willow".  
  
"You must be careful not to get in the way of the branches until I say. This tree is not an ordinary willow tree. When you invade it's space, it will defend itself vigorously," Ogg explained tersely as they headed towards the tree in question. "We will be adding fresh soil to the ground around the roots, as this tree requires a lot of care during times of change, and it has recently been uprooted."  
  
Hagrid carried two large barrels filled with soil from the tree's previous home.  
  
"Let me get this straight," James interrupted. "We will be putting soil around the roots of a tree? That's all? Nothing tedious or dangerous?"  
  
Ogg grinned, "It's apparent that you have yet to be aquatinted with the Whomping Willow."  
  
Indeed, it only took a glance for the students to see that the Whomping Willow was certainly no ordinary willow tree. First of all it was enormous, it's mammoth branches hanging down to the ground. When they approached, the branches began to swing wildly about as if they had a mind of their own, and the roots moved about trying to trip Ogg as he bravely walked up to it.  
  
Lily gasped in horror when she saw it, the thought of digging up turf near the enormous and dangerous willow seemed quite unhealthy.  
  
The groundskeeper picked up a long stick that was on the ground and prodded a root near the base of the tree and instantly the Whomping Willow stopped its deadly assault and lay still as a muggle portrait, only a slight breeze ruffling it's leaves.  
  
After approaching the tree cautiously, Lily and James began to follow Ogg and Hagrid, loosening and turning the soil, adding a bit from the barrel every once and a while.  
  
At one point James thought he saw an opening in the large tree trunk which almost looked like a passage, but Ogg told him to get back to work quickly, ignoring James' discovery.  
  
A few minutes later, to the shock of the two students, the branches on the tree began once more to strike out at them. James took a branch to the head, and Lily had a near miss before Ogg tapped the root once more and explained that this would only disable the tree for a short time.  
  
This revelation kept both students on their toes. It really was quite a challenge ducking the violent branches, and it would be a lie to say that James and Lily were not bruised and cut excessively in the process.  
  
Both Ogg and Hagrid seemed to be very rustic wizards, and while they expressed their concern for the two students, they did not really seem to worry overmuch about their safety. It didn't seem to occur to them that the branches were a real danger.  
  
And although Lily couldn't help being a little scared when the branches swung out unexpectedly, it did really seem more of an adventure than a horrible detention, and the two students laughed and joked freely.  
  
Ogg and Hagrid were good company as well, cheerful and full of tips about dodging rogue willow limbs.

* * *

With the detention over, Lily and James returned to the castle both looking quite a mess. Aside from being covered in wet soil from head to toe, James was sporting a bloody nose and a black eye, and Lily's robes were torn and a cut on her forehead kept dripping blood down her face.  
  
Still the duo were in a surprisingly good mood, and for once they were not fighting.  
  
"I bet you could make a jolly game of that tree," James commented recklessly, in the safety of the castle corridors. "See who could get the closest to the trunk! Of course we can't let on to anyone about that knot that freezes it, that would ruin all of the fun."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Boys," before commending James on his hotheaded stupidity.  
  
James only laughed at her cynicism. When Dora ambushed them with a muggle camera in hand, he flung his arm about Lily's shoulders haphazardly and they both grinned exuberantly at the camera.  
  
"You two seem to be getting along so much better!" Dora exclaimed, eyeing their dirty robes. "But what on earth happened to you?"  
  
The photo popped out of a slit on Dora's camera, and James took the photo examining it closely. "We do look a mess, don't we?" he said, shoving the photograph into a pocket of his robes.  
  
Lily shrugged, but insisted getting to their common room before Madam Klase might see them and forcibly escort them into the hospital wing.

* * *

It was not long before students had picked up on the Whomping Willow, and James was very eager to spread the word. He and Sirius along with many other students had quickly developed a ritual of spending their free time poking and prodding the massive tree.   
  
He had made Lily promise not to speak of the knot which would freeze the tree, and many students were injured in this dangerous game. Lily and Dora both agreed that the game was foolish and unsafe, but Brittany had taken to joining in the game along with the boys and older students.  
  
Madam Klase was horrified at the number of students sent to her with cuts and abrasions from the Whomping Willow and Lily even overheard a conversation between the nurse and Dumbledore in which Madam Klase seemed to be trying to persuade the headmaster to take the tree off of school grounds.  
  
"It is dangerous having a monstrosity like that on school grounds! Why, it will only be a matter of time before someone is killed!" the witch had protested.  
  
Dumbledore looked grave at her tone. "Yes, the tree can be dangerous, but you know just as well as I that it is necessary."  
  
Lily had to move on at that point to avoid being obvious about her eavesdropping, but it seemed that Madam Klase had her doubts.

* * *

It seemed that throughout the following week, much of James and Sirius' time went into planning on how to best revenge themselves on the persons of Terrance and Malfoy. Lupin had been plotting as well, but had mysteriously disappeared. The teachers informed them that Remus's mother was ill and he was visiting her.  
  
Lily too, was active in the planning of James's next prank. It was Lily who came up with the grand idea. She proposed hexing the two Slytherin's robes to bear the Gryffindor Logo.  
  
James expanded on this, insisting that a message reading "Gryffindor for the House Cup" would improve their uniforms immensely.  
  
The plan was executed one potions class by Sirius and James. Lily, Brittany, and Peter watched happily, but Dora muttered disapprovingly under her breath.  
  
"The poor boys, that's really not very nice." Dora had protested weakly.  
  
"They deserve it you know," Lily had defended the pranksters. "You would understand if you had been through what I have."

* * *

Potions went well that day. It was a while before any of the Slytherins caught on although the Gryffindors were all engaged in various degrees of hilarity.  
  
Eventually a Slytherin girl noticed and pointed it out to the dismay of the victims. Terrance threatened, and Malfoy lunged at James, but he managed to dodge him.  
  
Luckily for the brave pranksters, Ludwick did not know to whom to attribute the crime, but ten points were taken from Gryffindor. And best of all, both Slytherins went around school with the message on their backs for nearly a week before Ludwick came up with the charm to rid them of it.

* * *

One day, while Lily and Dora were taking a walk by the lake, they saw James escorting a boy back to the castle, with half of the school behind him gossiping eagerly.  
  
the boy was clutching at his eye, and blood was streaming down between his fingers. Lily ran up anxiously, her heart beating quickly. This was no small injury, it seemed as if the boy had lost a lot of blood and possibly an eye.  
  
"James!" Lily called, "What happened?"  
  
He ignored her, but some of the following students were talking excitedly about the Whomping Willow. It seemed that it had finally claimed a victim.   
  
"Oh, I hope it's not serious!" Dora cried, laying a hand to her mouth delicately.  
  
"It serves them right for playing that stupid game. It was bad enough serving detention near the tree, I don't understand why anyone would seek out that sort of thing."  
  
That was the end of the game with the Whomping Willow. 


	5. Book 1 Chapter 5

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 5- Disasters and Broomsticks**

* * *

On the first of October, a notice was pinned on the doors to the great hall. While normally notices rarely were noticed at all, this particular notice, was noticed quite a bit, especially by the first year students.  
  
"First year flying lessons will begin this week," Peter read aloud to the excited students behind him, "Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs start on Tuesday at 9 o'clock with Professor Reclarus on the Quidditch field."  
  
Naturally, all other topics of conversation were halted, in favor of this new development. Remus, James and Sirius had long animated conversations, describing their previous broomstick exploits. Brittany joined the conversation occasionally, telling all who would listen about the time she had crashed on her grandmother's broom.  
  
Lily mused aloud about how much she looked forward to flying, even as a child she had always dreamed of flight. Although she had always imagined sprouting wings and taking to the sky, broomsticks seemed a wonderful substitute for actual wings.  
  
Poor Dora only sat back glumly, her predisposition towards magic shining through. "I can never do anything right! How do they expect me to stay on a broomstick? I'll just fall off and embarass myself," she moaned in a piteous voice.   
  
Peter didn't contribute to the lively debate, he just sat back looking queasy, occasionally muttering something about flying disasters.

* * *

Classes on Monday seemed to go incredibly slow, and Tuesday morning all of the first years were up with time to spare. Lily had taken to pacing the common room, nervously surveying older students about their experiences flying.  
  
"It's not really all that hard," Frank Longbottom, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain had explained. "You just have to get the hang of it, and then you will do fine. And it only hurts for a second when you fall from high up," he added confidentially, "because by the time you hit the ground, you are usually unconscious. So don't worry about it!"  
  
Somehow, Frank's advice did nothing to calm her down.  
  
James and Sirius on the other hand, were at least twice as confident as usual. Both of them had numerous experiences on broomstick, as they had grown up with them. Even Brittany and Remus had flown before.  
  
For some reason, Remus was looking quite pale and drawn ever since his return from visiting his mother. Secretly, Lily suspected that it was him who was ill. And when she had asked him how he was doing, Remus had only avoided her glance and changed the subject all too quickly. Needless to say, his reaction only added to her suspicion. She also noticed several clawlike scratches on his arms. He seemed very eager to talk about flying lessons when this topic came up.  
  
Lily, like most of the students arrived on the Quidditch field a good fifteen minutes before the lesson was to begin.  
  
There was much nervousness and excitement radiating from both the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs as they waited for Professor Reclarus to arrive.  
  
Nine o'clock came and went, but no sign of the Professor was evident.  
  
At nearly nine-thirty, a middle aged man gone slightly to seed hustled across the field, his robes wrinkled and stained.  
  
He started speaking excitedly, almost before he was in range. "Hello students! I'm sorry I'm late . . . I had a bit of lay in this morning," he seemed quite flustered. "Today you will receive your first flying lesson. I hope you're all excited. Well, what are you waiting for? Grab a broom!"  
  
Lily picked up the haggard looking broom settled on the grass in front of her. It's twigs were broken and bent, and the paint almost all the way chipped off of the handle.  
  
"All right, lets see what you can do, when I blow my whistle, start flying!" Reclarus spoke quickly, his eyes shining with anticipation more commonly found in the young.   
  
A sharp blast on a whistle signaled the descent of several students, including James, Sirius and Brittany.  
  
Lily tried to mount her broom, but her robe kept getting the way. If only the teacher would give me a bit of instruction, she thought almost angrily.  
  
She pulled up on the broom, trying to get it to rise. "Fly," she muttered as if it were a spell. "Wingardium Leviosa!" No matter what she tried, she seemed to be grounded, along with the majority of the class.  
  
Now several Hufflepuffs, along with James, Brittany, Sirius, Remus and Wilma were in the air.  
  
Dora too, rose after several more minutes, but Lily, becoming frustrated, threw her broom to the ground. "This is useless!" she called helplessly.  
  
James swooped down impressively. "Having troubles Evans?" he asked in a mocking tone.  
  
"No!" Lily spoke defiantly. "I just don't want to fly!"  
  
"Suit yourself," James shrugged. "But it is so much fun up here, you are missing out on a lot."  
  
Some of the old loathing Lily had held for this boy began to come back at. "Oh yeah, well what do you know anyway you stupid git?" she replied scathingly, that old animosity creeping into her voice.  
  
"You're such a hopeless muggle Lily, I suppose flying is a bit beyond your reach!" James laughed maniacally as he rose skyward.  
  
Now he had touched on a tricky subject, and Lily in her rage grabbed a pebble and lobbed it at the flying boy. She missed by quite a bit.  
  
Lily spent the rest of the lesson in misery, sitting forlornly on the damp grass next to Peter who was equally untalented.  
  
The Professor was no help either. He was up in the sky with the rest of the students, flying this way and that, playing games with some.  
  
Rosmerta Pludgeon managed to fall off of her broom, and lay on the ground clutching her ankle for a while until Lily managed to get the Professor's attention.  
  
"Oh just send her to the hospital wing," Reclarus responded negligently and proceeded to race Sirius to the opposite end of the field.  
  
Lily shook her head in disgust, summoning Peter to help her lift the poor girl.

* * *

Even back in the common room, Lily found no peace. All that the Gryffindors could talk about was flying.   
  
"Oh it's amazing Lily, you ought to try it!" Dora raved passionately.  
  
Lily just shrugged, pretending not to care. "It can't be that great."  
  
James was the only one who caught on to her mood, and he played it for all it was worth. "Lily do you reckon you'll try out for the Quidditch team next year? I think you would be really good!" At this he started laughing hysterically, an all too obvious display of his sophomoric wit.  
  
After a few hours of James teasing and everyone else's rapturous reflections, she retired to her bed, several hours before nightfall, laying under her blankets, yet not sleeping a wink.

* * *

It took nearly a week for everyone to wind down about Quidditch and Lily's bad mood still persisted. She found herself avoiding even Dora and Brittany. Gloomily stalking the common room, ever preoccupied with her studies.  
  
One night James approached her, and Lily turned away expecting more ridicule.   
  
"Hey, wait Lily," James called.   
  
She turned around icily, the two had barely been on speaking terms since the day of the fatal lesson.  
  
"I just wanted to say . . . I could teach you to fly. You know, if you wanted" He looked down awkwardly and Lily suspected it might even be a legitimate offer.  
  
"Why?" Lily asked carefully.  
  
"Well," James looked confused. "You were so excited about learning, and then you just gave up. I thought maybe I had something to do with it. I just wanted to make it up to you."  
  
Trying her hardest to be nonchalant, Lily shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
"How 'bout tomorrow morning. That will give you time to practice before the next lesson."  
  
Lily nodded tersely and then escaped once more to the girls dormitory.

* * *

True to his word, James showed up on the field early in the morning, toting with him two brooms with neatly trimmed twigs at the end and shiny red handles.  
  
He thrust one at Lily before she had a chance to speak. "Where did you get these brooms? they're so much nicer than the school ones."  
  
James grinned impishly, fingering his broom, "Well this one is mine, and that one I borrowed from Sirius."  
  
"But first years aren't allowed broomsticks!" Lily gasped.  
  
"Since when have I ever followed the rules," James rolled his eyes. "Honestly Lily, you should know me better than that by now! Now, the most important thing you have to remember when riding a broom is to grip it firmly."  
  
James demonstrated how to hold the broom and then placed Lily's fingers over the right spot on Sirius' borrowed broomstick.  
  
Lily understood the grip easily enough. She suspected that it was the flying which would provide difficulty. She was right.  
  
No matter how many times James demonstrated techniques for lift off, Lily could not leave the ground.  
  
Eventually, frustrated beyond belief and about ready to give up, James mounted Lily's broom from behind, and did the take off himself.   
  
Lily shrieked at first as her broom hovered in mid-air, but the sensation was like nothing else she had experienced before and she soon enjoyed the flight immensely, despite James' ever present grip about her waist.  
  
"Now you try, I'll let go of the broom and you steer!" James shouted in her ear.   
  
To Lily's amazement, it worked. After diving and looping wildly for a few minutes, Lily landed the broom with James' help and let him dismount.  
  
"See? You can do it. Try it by yourself this time."  
  
Tentatively, Lily raised herself into the air and began to turn cautiously, knowing that she could easily fall.   
  
James joined her on his own broom, sweeping past her swiftly, his skill evident. Lily's pace was cautious and slow compared to his experienced flight, but she still felt as if she was taking a risk just by being up so high.  
  
All of a sudden a gust of wind knocked the broom slightly off course and Lily panicked, letting go of her broom for an instant.   
  
It happened so quickly that she fell from her perch, she didn't have time to be afraid as the ground grew closer to her eyes. Lily saw a glimpse of Sirius' broom hovering above her, and a glimpse of the earth below her much too close for comfort, and then suddenly she was rising again, laying awkwardly in James' lap, his broomstick cutting into her thigh.  
  
Lily screamed.   
  
"Delayed reaction," James commented astutely.  
  
The fall was enough to discourage her for the morning, although she promised herself she would try again.  
  
"Thanks James," she declared honestly as she headed back to the castle with him.   
  
"Don't mention it, but next time don't leave the broom hovering in the air like that when you fall. I had a time grabbing both you and the broom."  
  
Lily glared, "I can see where your priorities lie. And you did grab the broom first!"  
  
James clicked his tongue, "Well, Sirius would kill me if I lost his broom." 


	6. Book 1 Chapter 6

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 6- Rafts and Flames**

* * *

Lily's mood improved considerably after her private flying lesson. Now she knew that she could fly and did not feel like a misfit any longer. As much as she hated to admit it, James had helped her a lot.  
  
At her next broomstick lesson, things went much smoother for her, although Rosmerta was far too terrified to attempt mounting her broomstick at all.  
  
Lily even stopped flying for long enough to help Peter mount his broom, patiently trying to teach him to take off. Peter always looked a bit green on a broomstick and only dared to hover a few inches off the ground.  
  
While she never really gained the skill that Potter and Black found so natural, Lily did manage to become competent at flying, even on the pathetic school brooms.  
  
Meanwhile, her other subjects were going well, aside from Potions. Ludwick really seemed to have it in for the Gryffindors.  
  
Currently they were working on a ten foot parchment scroll on the properties of Birchwood and thistle, which had been assigned as a punishment to the entire Gryffindor half of the class upon Ludwick's failure to find the culprits responsible for the decoration of Malfoy and Terrance's cloaks.  
  
Malfoy and Terrance were not the only ones who were at odds with James and his friends.   
  
Lily had managed to lose her respect for James once more, when he and Sirius were mercilessly picking on Severus Snape, whom they called Snivellus. The poor boy was something of a misfit, with long oily black hair and a bad posture. Severus seemed to have no friends and Lily pitied him intensely.  
  
James and Sirius displayed cruelty Lily had not expected even from them while taunting poor Severus, who only sneered back pathetically. Once when Lily had intervened, Severus had only snapped irritably at her.  
  
Lily's favorite class was Charms with Professor Felman, although her favorite teacher was Professor Lacy, the head of Gryffindor house.  
  
In charms they had been learning simple freezing charms, along with cheering charms and odor compensating charms. Lily loved being able to do even simple tasks with magic. Magic seemed to make the most mundane things interesting on whole new levels.  
  
One day, in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the students experimented with hex blocking techniques.  
  
Professor Lacy cast hexes on each of them in turn and the students were required to block the spells. Lily, James and Sirius were all successful with their blocks, but Peter ended up with pointy ears, and Dora was dripping milk from her nostrils.  
  
Sirius could not stop laughing at Dora's predicament. "It's brilliant!" He exclaimed happily. "That's a curse I need to learn!"  
  
Remus however glared at his friend and offered to escort Dora and Peter to the hospital wing.

* * *

The first Quidditch game of the year took place one sunny October afternoon, and all of the students showed up to watch. To Lily, who had never experienced a sport played on broomstick before, it was something of a holiday to see it played for the first time.  
  
She sat crouched on the top of the Gryffindor box between Sirius and Dora, shivering as much from excitement as from the chill wind under the cheerful sky.  
  
"Perfect day for Quidditch!" raved James happily.  
  
Frank Longbottom, a handsome seventh year who was the captain of the Gryffindor team as well as playing seeker, caught the Golden Snitch early on, despite the Slytherin Captain Barty Crouch's best efforts.  
  
Lily was a bit disappointed that the game was over so quickly, but she celebrated along with the rest of the Gryffindors at their easy win. the final race for the Snitch had been very exciting of course, Barty had been right on Frank's tail until the very end.  
  
Back in the common room, the older Gryffindors celebrated quite forcefully, drinking butter beers brought back from previous Hogsmeade trips the older students were allowed to embark upon.  
  
Lily found herself sitting in the background, not enjoying herself nearly as much as James, Remus, Sirius, and even Peter, who were all marauding around like drunken fools. Frank seemed to be in the best cheer of any of the Gryffindors, having pulled off that wonderful dive for the Snitch.  
  
Frank was surrounded by dozens of older girls, and the rest of his teammates, all struggling to get a word in edgewise.  
  
Nevertheless, Lily managed to have a good time, and she went to bed exhausted from a long day.

* * *

Malfoy's revenge did not come until almost everyone had forgotten the reason for it.   
  
James, Sirius and Lily were not expecting anything other than a pleasant day of freedom and idleness, on the Saturday that it happened. Malfoy and Terrance were at the back of their minds as they strolled the Hogwarts grounds. None of them had reason to suspect foul play of any kind.  
  
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, along with Brittany and Lily, were exploring the school grounds as thoroughly as they dared in the moderately tolerable weather, thick leaves of autumn crunching under their feet.  
  
The four boys were trying to come up with a charm to make a rain cloud follow around Professor Ludwick, and the two girls were trudging along behind them, gossiping happily about their expectations for the upcoming Halloween feast, which was a highly anticipated event for students of all years.  
  
So naturally, it came as a great shock when several vengeful Slytherin's jumped out from behind a bush, wands at the ready.  
  
"Glacerio!" several voices cried at once.  
  
Before Lily had a chance to draw her wand, she found herself frozen stiff, her entire body freezing cold as if she was immersed in ice. Try as she might, Lily could not move a muscle, and was trapped, stock-still as if she were paralyzed. She fell to the ground with a thud, and was unable to move her head to see if any of her friends remained standing.  
  
After a moment, it became obvious that they were not. the voices of the Slytherin's were the only ones audible.  
  
"I told you," Lily recognized Terrance's oily drawl, "we should have learned a levitation spell. How are we going to get them all the way to the lake?"  
  
"Oh shut up Pickle," Malfoy stepped into view, "we can drag them I'm sure. Don't be lazy oafs, we can take two trips, it's not that far."  
  
Lily felt herself being dragged across the lawn toward the castle, pebbles and sticks hitting her along the way. She tried desperately to break the curse, but she found that it was impossible to do anything with her entire body frozen.  
  
"What if someone sees us?" one of the captors asked nervously.  
  
"Don't be a baby! No one will see us, it's only a bit further to the lake."  
  
Fighting back panic, Lily wondered if they were going to drown the lot of them.   
  
Her captor suddenly shifted his grip on her collar and Lily saw James' inert body being dragged along next to her. His eyes were open, but frozen in place and his skin was pale and sickly. Lily tried to scream, but her vocal chords, too, were frozen solid. James looked as if he were dead.  
  
Eventually, Lily was dropped, and her stiff body fell to the ground with a thud. She could see vaguely to her left the shining smooth waters of the lake.  
  
"Okay Lucius, where is the raft?" Terrance called out.  
  
"Hold on, I'm getting it!" Malfoy snarled.  
  
Lily felt herself placed on a wooden raft, between two equally cold bodies, whom she was not able to discern, without the ability of movement. The frozen students were bound with rope to the wooden raft.  
  
Her heart was beating slower and slower, and Lily could feel her thought process getting fuzzy. She wondered how long a person could survive being frozen. She knew that Malfoy and Snape hated them, but she had never before considered that they would want her dead.  
  
"Are they all here?" she heard someone ask.  
  
Suddenly the greasy face of Terrance Pickle became visible. "Hello my brave little Gryffindors," he sneered. "It is quite obvious that you think yourself the best, but we will see how well you do out on the lake! Don't worry, the freezing charm will wear off in about an hour or two, it depends on your body size. But I'm sure you won't be so brave when you are stranded in the middle of a lake!"  
  
Terrance turned away, but Malfoy cut in bitterly. "By the way, I think we'll leave your wands somewhere for you to find."  
  
Lily felt her wand being snatched away, but could not see where they might have taken it.  
  
With a jerky motion, the raft was set aimlessly into the lake, and began immediately to drift lazily away from the shore.  
  
Out on the lake, time seemed to lose all meaning. Lily could not tell for how long they drifted before her insides began to thaw, nor could she tell how far they had drifted. Her eyes were fixed skyward, and she could not tell where she was on the lake.  
  
She began to warm slowly, from the inside-out. She could feel bodies struggling on either side of her. Eventually she was able to blink, and then to turn her head.  
  
Painfully, she perceived Sirius on her left, and James on her right. Sirius seemed more or less in a similar state as Lily, but James was already moving about, struggling with his ropes.  
  
She watched as James managed to loose the ropes, and then turned to the left, where Lily could see Remus, moving sluggishly from beneath his binding.  
  
James freed him first, and then turned and set about Lily, while Remus still lay back breathing heavily.  
  
During this time, Sirius had managed to free himself and Brittany.  
  
The other's began to speak sluggishly and move about, but Lily only lay still, her body still unbelievably cold. Every time she tried to move an arm or a leg, the muscles protested, leaving her stiff against the raft.  
  
Soon all of the others were recovering rapidly, only Lily lacking the resilience to get back up.  
  
"What's wrong with Lily?" Brittany sounded worried, leaning over her friend.  
  
Remus snapped his fingers in front of her face, and Lily tried to respond, but her body did not seem to be listening to her mental commands.  
  
"Hey, maybe she has hypothermia," Sirius speculated. "You know, as an after effect of the curse."  
  
"I don't think you can get hypothermia from a curse," Brittany countered, "she is probably just coming out of it slow."  
  
James put a hand to her forehead, and called out her name several times, trying to get a response. "Hey Sirius, what are you supposed to do with someone who has hypothermia?"  
  
Sirius didn't respond for a moment, he grasped one of Lily's hands in his own and began rubbing it vigorously. When James shot him a questioning look, he shrugged. "My uncle had frostbite once, and to cure it my mum rubbed his skin until it got the color back."  
  
James hesitantly began rubbing Lily's other hand, which felt cold as ice, he shivered, the effects of the curse still not completely worn off.  
  
"Does anyone know any wind conjuring spells?" Peter asked cautiously, still shivering violently.  
  
No one answered him. After a moment he spoke again, with the injured air of one ignored. "Well if no else cares to try and get us back to land, perhaps we'll just swim for it." His voice dripped sarcasm.  
  
"We might have to," Remus responded seriously.  
  
"You're joking right?" Serious looked horrified at the thought of submerging his still cold body into the icy depths of the lake, removing Lily's jacket slowly, his fingers moving further up her arm.  
  
"We'll die in the water!" Brittany protested weakly.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. If we have to we can swim. It won't kill us. But first lets just get everyone warmed up a little."  
  
Little prickles of warmth were spreading up Lily's arms as James and Sirius rubbed them, human warmth speeding up the thawing process.  
  
Try as they might, no one could come up with any other ways to get back to shore, although Remus managed to conjure up a small fire which could be contained in small glass container, which he luckily happened to have in his robes.  
  
"It looks like we are going to have to swim for it." Remus said decidedly.  
  
The others groaned and Peter muttered something that sounded like, "I was only joking".  
  
Even Lily managed to find her voice. "I can't swim," she spoke in barely above a whisper, but James heard her.  
  
"I forgot, Lily can't swim!" he explained to the others hastily.  
  
"Bloody hell!" Sirius cursed.  
  
"Remus," Peter spoke shrilly. "Can I see that fire for a moment."   
  
Reluctantly, Remus gave up his flame. Peter greedily drew his face close to the fire, breathing in the warmth, pulling it closer and closer until, he let out a shriek and dropped the small fire, a scorch mark adorning his nose.  
  
Sirius darted towards the glass container, but it was too late, the flame was smoldering against the wood of the raft.  
  
James began splashing water onto the raft, but Peter panicked and began to flap his cloak at it, succeeding in spreading the fire faster and catching his robes on fire. Magical fires would burn nearly anywhere  
  
Peter tried to stand, flapping his burning robes madly, but Sirius quickly pushed him into the lake.  
  
Flames shot up from the raft, the dead dry wood the Slytherins had used for construction, lighting aflame despite the water surrounding them. The other students hastily entered the water. Only Lily delayed. She shrieked, nearly out of her frozen trance, but fear of drowning delayed her from joining the others in the lake.  
  
A flame leapt up, and almost ignited her hair, and for a moment, her brilliant red locks became orange with heat, but several hands pulled her into the water.  
  
Lily struggled to stay above water, and she fought James violently as he tried to pull her up, almost bringing him down with her.  
  
After quite a struggle with the forces of water and James, Lily managed to grab onto a stray log which had come detached from the rest of the raft.  
  
It rolled and swayed under her weight, but she hung on precariously, barely managing to stay afloat.  
  
"Lily!" Sirius swam over to her, and grabbed hold of the log, steadying it a bit. "Try to float on your back!"  
  
Lily didn't want to let go of the log, which seemed her only salvation, but she did reluctantly after the log spun once more, and she managed to stay afloat on her back for nearly ten seconds, before she began to thrash about once more.  
  
"Relax your muscles!" Sirius called to her, "You won't float if you keep fighting."  
  
Somehow it registered, and Lily managed to stay on her back. Sirius and James managed to pull her along with them, between the two, for both were strong swimmers already.  
  
Luckily, it turned out that they were not very far from the shore after all, and although it seemed an eternity to the cold, wet students in the lake, they reached wading level before too long.  
  
Upon emergal from the lake, the students coughed and sputtered.  
  
Brittany turned and headed immediately towards the castle.  
  
"Where are you going?" Remus asked.  
  
"I have to tell a teacher what they have done!" Brittany raved, "they'll get deducted points."  
  
"What!" Sirius cried indignantly, "You're not going to tell a teacher! We'll get back at them ourselves. It would sour it otherwise!"  
  
"You can't tell a teacher Brittany! That would ruin our revenge." Remus agreed.  
  
Lily got over her shock and near drowning fairly quickly, surprising them all with her passionate reply. "Teachers would not do to those worms half of what they deserve. It is up to us to get them back," she spoke forcefully despite the chattering of her teeth.  
  
The others, even Brittany, nodded gravely. 


	7. Book 1 Chapter 7

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 7- Dungbombs and Flying Food**

* * *

For Lily, and the other victims of the freezing curse, the rest of the evening revolved around the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room, which was truly the only place that they felt truly warm again, after emerging from the freezing lake while still recovering from the freezing hex, and then spending an hour searching for their wands.  
  
While wiggling their toes and fingers in front of the warm fire, they discussed methods of revenge against the Slytherins, but were unable to come up with a suitable plan.  
  
"It can't just be uncomfortable for them, it has to be humiliating," Sirius explained as he turned down James' hundredth idea.  
  
Remus, who slouched on a couch furthest from the fire, shot up instantly. "I know! We could bewitch their chairs to pull out just as they sit down next Potions class," he ventured.  
  
James stroked his chin thoughtfully. "No," he concluded, "not evil enough."  
  
"We could steal some bludgers from Professor Reclarus and enchant them to follow them about taking passes at their heads until, bam, comatose Slytherins!" Sirius spoke excitedly.  
  
This time James shook his head quickly, "Too evil!" He laughed at his friend's audacity.  
  
Sirius pouted. "they'd have done it to us!"  
  
In the end it was Peter who hit on the right balance. "Why don't we lock them all in a bathroom filled with dungbombs?" He ventured timidly.  
  
To his surprise, the others grew quiet for a moment, before erupting into excited babble about their newly adopted plan. Eventually, Brittany and Lily went up to bed, leaving the boys to plot out the intricate details which would make this fantasy a reality.

* * *

The next morning, James and Sirius were able to secure not one, but two gigantic crates of dungbombs for their little prank, much to the amusement of the girls.  
  
The plan went off without a hitch. Remus was able to lure Terrance, Malfoy and a handful of their supporters, including Severus Snape, into the haunted bathroom, on the pretense of a fight.  
  
Like vultures, the Slytherins hurried to the area in question, eager for blood. Once both Terrance and Malfoy were inside the bathroom, Sirius slammed the door shut, and James sealed it with a magical spell.  
  
The dungbombs had been left inside and set to go off in only a few more seconds.  
  
And all the students in the hall knew when the bombs had gone off, for muffled cries of disgust and alarm were raised from the Slytherins inside the crowded bathroom.  
  
Several of their comrades tried in vain to come to the rescue of those stuck inside the bathroom, but most of the other Slytherins only laughed at the expense of those locked inside.  
  
James and Sirius laughed and high fived. "And Snivellus is in there too! An added bonus!" Sirius called cheerfully.  
  
Brittany and Lily were among those who laughed the hardest. But they were quick to scatter in case a teacher might come.  
  
As it turned out, nobody found it necessary to alert a member of the staff, and the unfortunate students remained in the bathroom until well past nightfall, with only Moaning Myrtle, the bathroom's resident ghost for company.

* * *

By the next morning, it was common knowledge that Filch had found them in the night, while cleaning out the bathrooms.  
  
The entire group was nervous the whole morning, until the letters of reprimand arrived at breakfast.  
  
Lily held her breath, but only James and Sirius received detentions by mail, both reacting with a groan.  
  
"Well that's one more for the record books!" Remus responded brightly.  
  
"Easy to say that, but you're not the one cleaning out all of the bathrooms by hand tonight," Sirius complained glumly.  
  
Still, they all agreed that the revenge was worth the detentions.  
  
When Lily saw Snape next, he was scowling bitterly and glaring at the pranksters with a cold white loathing, so vile that even Dora could detect it.   
  
"He looks like he's sucking a lemon!" she remarked. "Poor boy, he really didn't deserve it."  
  
The rest of the school noticed a faint lasting odor, no doubt from the dungbombs around him and the other Slytherins who had been trapped in the bathroom. the smell seemed to linger, even though all of them had no doubt showered since their imprisonment.  
  
Snape approached James in Potions that afternoon. "I'll get you for this Potter!" he hissed under his breath.   
  
James only grinned. "Yeah right!"  
  
"I assure you James that I will not rest until each and every one of you get what you deserve!" Snape let his eyes drift from James and Sirius to Remus and Peter, finally looking over at Lily and Brittany. "And yes, I mean your little mudblood whores as well! they will get what they have coming." With a false grin, Severus turned his greasy head and marched across the classroom.  
  
To add insult to injury, Sirius flung a spitball at Snape's retreating back, earning himself another detention from professor Ludwick.  
  
"You know what that means!" he exclaimed happily, "I'm almost tied with you James! I've got three and you've got four. I'm going to beat you yet!"  
  
James shook his head, "You wanna bet?"  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow mischievously, "Name your price?"  
  
"I'll bet you ten galleons that by the end this year, I will have more detentions that you!" James prophesied.  
  
Sirius shook his head skeptically, "No way you have a chance, but you are on!"  
  
The two spit into their palms and shook hands, much to the disgust of Lily and Dora.  
  
While the other students studied and played, Sirius and James spent the majority of their free time that week, cleaning toilets and removing Luminous Leeches from the Giant Lake Turtles which resided in the shallow parts of the lakes. Both of them had succeeded in upping their total detentions to five apiece, by setting off fireworks in Felman's class. Sirius had gotten an extra for insulting Filch to his face.  
  
They only laid off, when Halloween night was in sight. Neither of them wanted to miss out on the festivities because of another detention. Dumbledore had announced that a feast would be held Halloween night, and each of the Gryffindor ghosts would be re-enacting their deaths.  
  
There was a great deal of anticipation and gossip about the big night, students of all classes and years were constantly discussing it. Even plans for further revenge against the Slytherins, was put on the back burner.  
  
"You'll love it," Frank Longbottom raved to the younger students. "Last year a group of hags came and performed a tap dance number. I can't wait to see what happens this year!"  
  
With all the excitement building, on the day of Halloween, attention was at an all time low in each of Lily's classes. It seemed like torture to attend lessons on a holiday. But, the students were released early, to get ready for the feast.  
  
Many of the older students, went up to the common room, to curl their hair and fix their makeup, but most of the first years, could not pass up an opportunity for fun. James and Sirius started a massive game of freeze tag outside the castle.  
  
Lily found freeze tag much more enjoyable, when the possibility of cheating was eliminated by the fact that when a student was 'frozen' they were actually frozen.  
  
Brittany, Lily and Dora always came to each other's rescue when one was frozen, and it soon turned into a mass competition between the first year girls and boys. the goings were even for a while, but soon the three girls found themselves frozen, with no one to turn to for help.   
  
Despite their fun, Lily and the others arrived early for the feast, finding good seats at the table.  
  
The hall was decorated so exquisitely, with floating pumpkins and candles in the air. Dark tablecloths covered the wooden tables, and more candles, and empty golden platters and bowls lay atop it.  
  
Lily waited anxiously as the other students flooded in slowly. It seemed an eternity before Dumbledore stood and raised his goblet.   
  
"I am sure you are all very eager for our entertainment to begin, as well as for your platters to fill. So I will leave you to your enjoyments this Halloween night, with only a few words; Happy Halloween!"  
  
He sat down once more and all of the golden dishes were suddenly filled with the most delectable of treats. If Lily had not experienced this at the sorting, she would have been shocked.  
  
Better than the food though, was the show. It was amazing to watch the pearly ghosts, which the students had all become accustomed to, telling the grisly stories of their own deaths.  
  
After the ghosts had finished their re-enactments (the Bloody Baron's being the most frightening), the teachers themselves stood and began to sing a jolly song about a vampire and werewolf, that everyone found quite amusing, aside from a few Slytherins, who turned up their noses at this ridiculous display.  
  
The very best part of the whole evening, came when everyone had gotten quite enough to eat. Everyone was about finished, and almost ready to head back to their dorms.  
  
"Hey Lily!" James called, and tossed a piece of his pumpkin pie right into her face.  
  
There was a moment, where everyone froze, not sure whether Lily would burst into tears, but then the tension was broke as she flung a platter of gravy at James. the gooey substance stuck to his hair, making it seem even more unruly than usual.  
  
Then, all hell broke loose.  
  
Food flew in all directions, before long all of the tables were involved. Lily even spotted Dumbledore smiling youthfully as he upturned a platter of spaghetti onto Professor Ludwick's sour face.   
  
Not a student who left the great hall that night, remained un-plastered by food of some sort. Laughter and mirth overcame even the grumpiest of students, and a good time was had by all.  
  
Even Ludwick appeared to be having a good time.  
  
Sirius and James came out the worst, having concentrated their efforts mainly on one another, but Lily and Peter were also splendidly decorated. the party lasted long into the night in the Gryffindor common room. Eventually Professor Lacy came down and put a stop to the merriment, although she too, looked a bit reluctant to call it quits. 


	8. Book 1 Chapter 8

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 8- Mishaps and Mayhem**

* * *

Tension grew among the young Gryffindors, as days passed, and still no sign of the Slytherin's revenge became visible. It seemed too much to hope for that they had forgotten their grievances.  
  
Adding to the list of worries, Remus suddenly disappeared one night. Professor Lacy assured them that he was feeling a bit queasy and would be perfectly fine in a day or two, but Dora in particular seemed concerned.  
  
Meanwhile, James and Sirius had been pulling practical jokes on anyone who they could get near. One morning, all the first year girls woke up to find themselves sprouting feathers from all over their bodies.  
  
Lily's were orange, and clashed quite horribly with her hair, making her appear as if she were on fire.  
  
Most of the girls were irked, but forgave the boys after having them removed by Madame Klase, but Lily was back to her old frenzy.  
  
As soon as she was released from the hospital wing, she stormed up to the two culprits.  
  
"Ah, nice to see you so early this morning, all fresh and feather-free!" Sirius laughed gleefully.  
  
His glee ended abruptly as Lily kicked him hard in the shins. "Apologize. Now!" She squealed, her eyes blazing.  
  
James laughed as Sirius clutched his shin in painful remorse, "That'll show him! Lily where did you learn to kick so hard?"  
  
She turned on him without so much as a smile. "Don't tell me you had nothing to do with this James! That was not funny!" She delivered him a blow to the head, via her Herbology book.  
  
"OW! What was that for?" He exclaimed innocently. "I'm sure you looked quite good in feathers."  
  
Lily glared at James for a split second, before turning and walking off huffily.  
  
That was how the peace between James and Lily was ended abruptly. At this point James only held her in mild contempt and amusement, but Lily was not quick to forgive and forget.

* * *

While the boys plotted further pranks to bestow on unsuspecting victims, Lily drew Brittany and Dora away from the mischievous foursome, although neither girl held a grudge half as large as Lily's. the girls followed her none-the-less, out of the pure fun of a battle of the sexes.  
  
For Brittany and Dora at least, boys were beginning to get some attention as human beings, although Lily had yet to find the reason why they inhabited the planet.  
  
"Boys are dumb!" she vented, pacing the common room in annoyance. Her two friends nodded vaguely, both of them caught up in an epic game of chess. Wizard chess seemed to be one of the only things Dora was good at. She was currently whipping Brittany's butt.  
  
"I swear if they pull one more prank on us," Lily fumed, "I'll rip their hair out!"  
  
"Their prank wasn't as bad as Malfoy's," Dora put in quietly.  
  
"Well, it was their fault that the Slytherin's pulled that prank on us in the first place. If we hadn't been with James and the others, they wouldn't have bothered with us. We aren't the ones with a grudge against them!" Lily shouted toward her friends.  
  
They didn't dare say another word in opposition after seeing the murderous look upon the red-head's face. Lily had already proven just how far her temper extended.  
  
Whenever Malfoy and his cronies met a Gryffindor in the hall, they sneered and spouted insults. Terrance had even taken a swing at Sirius once. Sirius had ducked, and Terrance's fist had connected painfully with the wall.  
  
Even Lily and the girls found themselves victims to the Slytherin's hatred. But despite all the empty threats, nothing more seemed to come.   
  
One morning, Lily sat reading the daily prophet, horrified at an article about a series of wizards and muggles who had been killed by a dark wizard, "he who must not be named".  
  
It seemed foolish to Lily to call the murderer by such a cryptic name. She asked Brittany who the mysterious killer was, and she replied in a whisper, "Voldemort."  
  
Lily felt a chill at the familiar name. She had heard of this dark wizard before, and with the name always came a feeling of foreboding premonition.  
  
Just then, James burst into the hall, clutching a letter above his head, which he was waving about excitedly.  
  
Forgetting Lily's grudge, he rushed over to the girls.  
  
"Hey Lily, guess what!"  
  
"You finally found out what an idiot you are," she muttered sarcastically.  
  
"No! Better. My brother just got accepted to play Quidditch for the Britain Boggarts!" He exclaimed happily.  
  
Lily tried to think of a biting remark but failed. "You have a brother?"  
  
"Yeah, he graduated Hogwarts last year. John was the captain of the Quidditch team. He's so cool! I'm going to be a captain too someday! Just watch. It's in the blood." James raved on, obviously in adoration of his brother.  
  
"That's great James!" Brittany smiled warmly, forgetting Lily's grudge.  
  
A sharp elbow to the ribs made her remember pretty fast. "Why should we care?" Lily rolled her eyes as if James' news was no big deal.  
  
Instantly his face fell. "Well, I just thought it was cool. I mean, my brother! Playing for Britain! I've got to go find Sirius!" He rushed off, his good mood instantly restored.  
  
After he was gone, Lily turned to Brittany. "We hate him, remember?"  
  
Brittany shrugged and busied herself in her eggs. Dora looked about to protest, but clearly thought better of it and looked down quickly.

* * *

James and the other boys were all in great humor throughout the next week. They had been sent tickets for several Quidditch games, and periodically got out of school to go watch the sport. Lily was deep in the throes of jealousy, although she would never admit it.  
  
"No you idiot! It only need two strands of polar bear fur!" Lily protested.  
  
"You're wrong! It's three." James asserted.  
  
Potions class was at an all time low. James and Lily argued about everything, and Ludwick made things worse, by pairing them together for every assignment.  
  
"Here let me do it!" Lily dropped in several toad eyes.  
  
"Wait! I already added that ingredient!" James yelled.  
  
But unfortunately it was too late. Their scouring potion had turned a sick shade of green and was bubbling violently.  
  
Lily looked around nervously. "I think we can fix it if we add an extra tadpole."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "It needs a pinch of sulfur!"  
  
Lily pushed James aside and dropped her tadpole into the mix, just as James held the jar of sulfurous powder over the cauldron. James dropped the entire jar into the steaming pot.  
  
The explosion was so loud that the entire class screamed. When the rest of the class stopped, Lily and James were still screaming, screaming so loud that the several students had to plug their ears.  
  
The potion had no visible effect, but both Lily and James, who had been covered in the potion, were in immense pain. Lily felt as if her blood was on fire.  
  
"Nobody touch them!" Ludwick cried out in annoyance. "The potion is obviously highly dangerous."  
  
The professor took his time conjuring two stretchers, and binding the students tightly to them. Lily and James were convulsing in painful spasms.  
  
Ludwick left Terrance and Malfoy in charge of the class, both of whom were snickering cruelly.  
  
Lily was in so much pain that although she heard Ludwick muttering angrily about detentions, the words didn't register.

* * *

"Nerviscus potion is a very dangerous concoction. It travels first to the nerve endings, and heats them up until the pain becomes unbearable," Madame Klase explained tersely. "It was very foolish of the two of you to be messing with such difficult and foul concoctions!"   
  
"It was an accident!" James explained. "We were trying to brew a scouring potion."   
  
Madame Klase shook her head, her disbelief apparent.  
  
Lily shut her eyes in misery. She felt drained and exhausted, and was shaking from shock.  
  
"Can we leave now?" James whined.  
  
"Hush, you need rest after such a horrible experience," Klase replied pompously.  
  
The plump nurse waddled over to the tiny red haired girl and pressed a hand to her pale forehead. "Oh my dear! You really aren't well!" She turned back to James, her matronly face set. "No, I'm afraid you shant be leaving for quite some time.  
  
It seemed to Lily that she had spent a great deal of her first two months at Hogwarts inside the Hospital wing, and most if it due to James. Actually, all of it had been due to James.  
  
Lily groaned and rolled over, content at having another reason to hate James.  
  
She was woken quite a while later, to the sound of voices from the next bed.  
  
"Yeah John, I'm sure I'm all right. I'm only stuck here because stupid Lily is pretending to have left over symptoms from the potion."  
  
"I knew it was nothing serious bro, I just was in the area, so I had to stop by and see my little brother."   
  
Lily sat up and pulled aside her curtains, curious to see this famous Quidditch playing brother. James stuck out his tongue at the sight of the red headed girl.  
  
"You must be Lily," spoke the tall handsome man, sitting by James' bed.  
  
Lily blushed and became suddenly shy.  
  
"Well aren't you a pretty little thing. James made you out to be a real monster."  
  
Lily's eyes flashed suddenly. "He's the monster! He's the reason I'm always in detention or the hospital wing!"   
  
John grinned at his brother and winked.  
  
James was not amused. "Go away Lily, I'm talking to my brother, I don't want to see your ugly face!"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Like I'd want to hear your stupid conversation anyway! I don't care what you talk about!"  
  
She yanked the curtains shut about her bed and instantly wished she hadn't. She really did want to eavesdrop on their conversation.  
  
Lily's grudge had grown a few sizes by the time she returned to greet her friends. And when Lothlorien swooped down over breakfast, and delivered her detention notification, it only swelled larger.  
  
"I hate James so much!" Lily shouted, tearing the letter in two. "This is all his fault."  
  
With this said, she burst into tears and allowed her two friends to comfort her in vain. Dora and Brittany shot each other a knowing look. they both liked Lily quite a bit, but there were times when she was a bit scary. Lily was very dramatic, and could be quite the drama queen. She never had a mood that was not intense. 


	9. Book 1 Chapter 9

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 9- Heroes and Nuisances  
**

* * *

It turned out that John decided to stay several more days at Hogwarts. He slept in the Gryffindor Common room, and was often seen conversing animatedly about Quidditch with Frank Longbottom. All of the Gryffindors were quite impressed with James' older brother, even Lily. Though she would never admit it, she had what was almost a crush on the older boy.  
  
And she was not alone. Several of the seventh year girls had taken to fawning over the good looking Qudditch player, and Dora kept following him around.   
  
James stopped playing pranks for a little while as well, much to the delight of the rest of the school. Even Sirius seemed to be under the influence of John Potter.  
  
One night Lily woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and on her way decided to head down to the common room to sneak a peak at the sleeping legend. When she arrived, she saw that he was gone and sighed ready to return to bed. Suddenly she saw a figure appear out of the corner of her eye. It was John, standing by the portrait hole and clutching a cloak in his arms. She could have sworn he had not been there a moment ago.  
  
"Where did you . . ." Lily trailed off, her eyes roaming suspiciously.  
  
John's normally pale face looked a few shade paler than usual. "Uh, what do you mean, I was here the whole time." He gulped. "the question is, why are you down here and out of bed? Perhaps somebody has a bit of a crush."   
  
Lily blushed and turned without further comment, and rushed up the stairs.

* * *

The next morning, Lily was somewhat more shy around John than the morning before. At breakfast, John was sitting with James, Sirius and Remus. And Lily hesitated while Dora and Brittany rushed to join them.   
  
John grinned, noticing the delay, and called out to her. "Hey Lily! Shed the timid act, show us some of your fiery temper to match your hair!"  
  
It took her a moment to understand that he had been making fun of her hair and disposition. Her shyness left her quickly.  
  
"Like I would be in a hurry to sit by the likes of you! Everyone thinks you are special because you are good at some silly sport! I know better. You're no different from James really!"  
  
James glared, but John only laughed. "Now there is the girl James told me about. Not really a Lily at all you know, really more of a Dragon, shooting fire out of her mouth at anyone who might get in her way. Don't be offended Lily, it's a compliment really. Everyone always makes way for a dragon. A lily might be delicate and polite, but a dragon has power, and a beauty all it's own"  
  
John patted the bench on his left side, motioning for Lily to sit down. She did, reluctantly.   
  
"And I think you are an idiot. What with all of the nonsense that comes out of your mouth."  
  
James rolled his eyes and was about to comment, but just then a gaggle of sixth year girls swarmed the older boy asking for autographs and poor James was drowned out.

* * *

John spent the rest of his time at Hogwarts, teasing one read headed girl whom he called "Dragon."  
  
To her surprise, Lily did not really hate him, although she teased back quite a bit. It was more of a good-natured animosity than a violent one, such as the Lily and James Feud. John seemed to think that the problems James had with her were quite trivial, though neither of the first years found it so.  
  
One day, the castle awoke to find John gone. He had moved on. Most of the school was in a very glum mood. Lily and James' mood was dampened even further by the detentions they had been assigned for that afternoon. they had to dust all the crystals on chandeliers from around the school, which had all been de-assembled especially for them.  
  
Once again, the two were up far into the night, miserably scrubbing each crystal until it they all glowed.  
  
Snape took the opportunity to make them feel even worse, as he stalked the hall gleefully, rubbing their punishment in their faces. "Oh Potter! Missed a spot.," he would cry, before dodging a filthy rag lobbed at him by James.

* * *

The next morning, Lily was still depressed from the night's torturous monotony, but her plight was not shared by the majority of the other students. Even James, her fellow victim wore a sincere smile.  
  
"James' brother is sending us tickets for his next Quidditch match! We get to miss Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts on Tuesday." Sirius greeted them cheerfully. "James, Peter, Remus, and I are getting tickets, along with a whole load of sixth and seventh year girls, oh and the Gryffindor Quidditch team of course."  
  
Just then, James joined the table. "It's too bad you won't be invited girls." he remarked angelically, his devilish side visible beneath his transparent smile.  
  
Lily just shrugged, pretending not to care. "It's just Quidditch."   
  
Still, it bothered her more than she would say. Brittany and Dora picked up on it and tried to cheer her up, to no avail.

* * *

Lily's bad mood lasted until breakfast on Monday, the day before the Legendary Quidditch match. All over, owls were bringing Lucky students Quidditch tickets by mail. Lily sighed and watched them land. Just when all the owls began to clear out, and breakfast had grown cold, Lothlorien made a grand entrance, clutching in her beak a tiny white envelope.  
  
Slightly puzzled, Lily tore the top of the envelope and out fell a ticket and a note.  
  
"Dragon," it read. "Please keep my brother in line. Hope you enjoy- John.  
  
Her face lit up so fast that her friends were amazed at her sudden mood swing.   
  
"Lily," Dora cried, "What is it?"  
  
Lily grinned hugely, but then sobered quickly. "I got a ticket. Don't tell any of the boys, I can't wait to see the look on James' face when I show up at the match!"  
  
Brittany, who was examining the ticket suddenly burst out, "Lily, this is a luxury box ticket!"  
  
"Is that good?" Lily asked, confused.  
  
"Those are only the best seats around!" Brittany replied exuberantly. Then realizing the attention she was attracting, added in a whisper, "I saw Sirius's ticket earlier, and it is only in the stands. James is going to die when he sees you have a box seat!"

* * *

Lessons flew by quickly and before she knew it, it was time for Defense against the Dark Arts. Lily knew that the students attending the match would be called out of the class, so she went with a smile, careful to be extra antagonizing to James.  
  
James and the others, were marauding around, walking nightmares to those who remained ticket less, but Lily took the abuse.   
  
When an owl flew into the classroom with a list of excused students, it took much effort for Lily to stop herself from jumping out of her seat.  
  
"Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew and Evans," Professor Lacy read dutifully.  
  
Lily happily watched the shock register on the boys faces before commenting, "Oh, it looks like I will be going after all." She pulled her ticket out of her robes and pretended to examine it closely. "Luxury box, what does that mean?" she mused aloud, enjoying the look of horror on James' face.  
  
"Luxury boxes are only for Ministry personnel, and the players' families," Sirius sounded shocked.   
  
"Each player gets four seats reserved each game for family, and the top row is for important people who want to attend." Brittany volunteered helpfully. "It seems like John has chosen Lily to join the rest of his family in the luxury box."  
  
For once in his life, James was completely speechless.

* * *

"Nice to meet you," Lily shook hands with James's parents, after they had insisted on an introduction.   
  
"It's nice to finally meet some of James's friends other than Sirius." Mr. Potter smiled warmly.  
  
"She's not my friend," muttered James unhappily, glancing over to the cheaper seats in which his real friends were seated.  
  
His mother nudged him and apologized for her son.   
  
"Oh don't you worry, Mrs. Potter. I am perfectly used to him. He's like this all the time." Lily smiled charmingly.  
  
The Luxury box turned out to be exactly that. Lily could see the entire field from where she sat, and was also aware that she sat among some prestigious wizards, who were very important in the wizarding world.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, girls and boys, it is my duty; my pleasure and my privilege to introduce you to the Britain Boggarts!" the announcer began. "William Worthington, Keeper!" he called out as, a tan robed player rushed on to the field amidst loud applause.  
  
Lily squinted through her binoculars, to watch the players enter the field, impressive upon their brooms.   
  
"Jordan Tessa, chaser! Ulrich VanUten, chaser! Jesse Frank, chaser! Ryan James, beater! Loriela Landings, beater! And . . . John Potter, Seeker!  
  
At his name, Lily proceeded to climb atop her chair and cheer wildly waving her arms in the air.   
  
Not to be outdone by a girl, James too, climbed onto his seat and began to jump up and down and shoot sparks out of his wand.  
  
"Go Johnny!" Mrs. Potter called politely from her seated position. Mr. Potter only clapped heartily, along with the majority in the box.  
  
Lily was not even aware that the game had begun, until several moments after the starting whistle had sounded. the players moved so quickly, dashing here and there through the sky that Lily had difficulty keeping her gaze on them.  
  
Compared to Hogwarts Qudditch, there was no contest, these teams were amazingly good. Lily found herself constantly asking, "what happened?"  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Potter were only too glad to answer her many questions, but James would only sigh and roll his eyes, too afraid to do more under the careful gaze of his parents.  
  
After only half an hour, John went suddenly into a quick dive, and the French seeker was quick to follow. It seemed to Lily that the two men had turned into a mere smear of color streaking down towards the ground. then suddenly, John came out of the dive and plummeted skyward, a glint of gold clutched between his fingers.  
  
"He got the Snitch! He got the Snitch!" James yelled excitedly, standing quickly and jumping up and down.   
  
Lily stood too, and before she knew it she felt herself enveloped in James' arms. He had been hugging everyone in sight. He quickly realized his mistake and jumped back, but not before Lily could throw in one quick shove.  
  
After the crowd had dispersed, Lily found a trinket vendor and purchased a full size poster of John's face, which she had promised to buy for Brittany as well as a rosette that Dora had wanted.   
  
Lily was unfolding the poster of the winking John, when a voice came out from behind her ear.  
  
"Oh, that's nice! Do you know where I could buy one of those?" Lily turned and shrieked when she saw John standing next to her.  
  
She bopped him on the head with the poster. "It's not for me, it's for my friend," she spoke defensively.  
  
John laughed and gave her a hug, which she tried in vain to squirm out of. "That is the little Dragon I like. Now, how badly did you annoy my brother?"  
  
Lily grinned impishly. "Just a hair."  
  
"Well I expected more than that. We'll just have to fix that won't we. Let's go find him." John dragged her in the direction where James had last been seen.

* * *

"It was awesome! He was so furious! And the game was cool too. I can't believe John gave me the ticket!" Lily babbled excitedly as Brittany admired her moving poster and Dora sat anxiously on the bed.  
  
"You should have gotten him to autograph it," Brittany whined dreamily, staring into John's hazel larger than life eyes."  
  
Lily tried to think of something to say, but her smile was so wide it was hard to talk. 


	10. Book 1 Chapter 10

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 10- Libraries and Molasses**

* * *

Lily's euphoria was interrupted quite suddenly one Sunday morning while taking a shower. the cool refreshing water, with which she had been shampooing her hair, turned to molasses. the gooey brown stuff stuck all over her body and in her hair, and it took hours to get off.  
  
She knew instantly who to blame.  
  
The girls schemed for hours about how best to exact their revenge, but they failed to come up with an adequate prank. It was Dora who came up with the idea to write to John for advice on this matter. After he had given Lily that ticket, her attitude towards James' older brother had improved a lot.   
  
She wrote a letter that evening, and the response arrived the next morning.   
  
"So here's what you do," Lily read out loud to her friends. "First I will send him a letter, pretending to be Wheezy Zonko, the man who owns Zonko's Magical Joke Shop. the letter will say that he has been chosen to be featured in Zonko's Crazy Wizard of the Year Calendar. You will need an inside man to pretend to have entered him in the contest. then you hire a photographer, I know a guy named Fertund Filibuster who will be perfect for the job. You can contact him through the sweet shop. Have James pose in some embarrassing manner. then magically enlarge the photo and replace it for the painting that guards the Gryffindor Common room."  
  
Brittany giggled. "It sounds like a good plan. I can just imagine a picture of James in the nude guarding our portrait hole!"  
  
"It's going to be hard to pull off, but I think we can handle it." Lily spoke bravely.

* * *

And it was hard to pull off. Brittany managed to bribe some fifth years to talk to the photographer for them, while Dora worked on Peter. It seemed that Peter's loyalties were the easiest to sway. Lily's job was to make sure that every thing went as planned. She coordinated everyone's efforts.  
  
On Thursday, James received the letter from Zonkos, and Peter admitted to entering him in the contest. On Saturday, James showed up for a special photo shoot, on campus with Dumbledore's permission of course. John had gone to Dumbledore, and it was true that the Wizard did love a good joke.

* * *

The joke consumed almost a week of the girls' time, and it drained their monetary assets completely, but it was all worth it when one morning the entire Gryffindor house awoke to find the portrait of the fat lady replaced with one of James in his skivvies with his makeup done up like a girl's.  
  
Lily made sure she was there when James came upon the lovely portrait. And she got to see his face turn pale, as his fellow Gryffindors, and assorted well-wishers from other houses burst into laughter. She almost would have felt sorry for him, had he not gotten molasses in her hair.  
  
That evening, Sirius approached Lily and comically bowed and kissed her hand.   
  
"I am in awe of you skill!" he confessed boldly. "A prank like that takes wisdom beyond my years. Tell me oh great one, how did you come up with a prank that creative?"  
  
Lily admitted her outside source, and Sirius laughed. "John really has taken a liking to you. I've known him my whole life, and he and James are really close, but always fighting. They're brothers, that says it all."  
  
Lily thought of Petunia. there was no bond there, just tension and fear. Sometimes Lily was not sure who was the one who was afraid, but mostly it felt like herself.  
  
"They seem to get along so well though. So much better than me and my sister at least." she laughed.  
  
"I'm an only child." Sirius explained. "But James, he is like a brother to me. We have been as close as you can imagine, since we were just babies."  
  
"So I guess you are going to go back to him and tell him everything I just told you." Lily sighed.  
  
"You guessed it." he smiled winningly.  
  
Lily stuck out her tongue defiantly. "Oh well, it was still a good prank."

* * *

Near the end of November, Remus began to look pale and sickly. This had happened twice already this school year, and his friends were becoming worried. Even the girls had their doubts about Remus' alleged health. Whenever anyone would question him, he became defensive and vague, trying to change the subject and accuse them of picking on him.  
  
Dora too, was having her share of difficulties. She was still struggling through her school work, not having much talent in the magic department. Despite the fact that Lily tutored her almost every night, Dora still was barely passing some of her classes.  
  
"Oh it's no use!" Dora cried on afternoon, after failing for the fifth time to transfigure a pillowcase into a blanket. "I'll never learn to do anything right! I might as well just quit."  
  
She broke down into noisy sobs and collapsed onto her friend's shoulder.  
  
"Come on Dora, you have to keep trying! I know you can do it, maybe transfiguration just isn't your best subject." Lily soothed.  
  
"I don't have a best subject! I'm horrible at everything!"   
  
"Don't be silly. You're great at History of Magic, and Herbology." Lily tried to calm her down. "You just need to practice more. It will be all right. Lets take a break for now, we can do more later."

* * *

One morning Remus was not in class, and Sirius and James said that they had been told he was in the hospital wing. they both looked worried.  
  
Later that day, during flying lessons, James and Sirius engaged themselves in a game of chicken, and were cheered on by half the class. The cheers were led by Professor Reclarus. Neither boy appeared to have much common sense, and on the third bout, they collided.  
  
Reclarus only laughed gleefully. "Oh what fun! I'll have to send the two of you to the hospital wing."  
  
Dora and Brittany looked worried, but Lily only rolled her eyes. "Somehow, I have a feeling that those two will be just fine."  
  
But secretly, she felt a tiny pang of worry when she heard Sirius groaning on the ground and James clutching his leg. Well, she thought defensively, it was their own fault they were hurt. James and Sirius had already caused quite enough pain in Lily's life.

* * *

The next morning, James and Sirius were at breakfast, looking a bit pale and preoccupied. they were sitting together with Peter, and whispering conspiratorially. When Lily walked by she thought she heard something about Remus.  
  
Dora heard it too, and rushed over to the group of boys.  
  
"Did you guys see Remus last night? Is he doing okay?" Her voice had a strange strained note to it.  
  
James and Sirius shot each other odd looks, but Peter blurted out right away, "they didn't see him in the hospital ward! Remus wasn't there! James thinks that . . ."  
  
He was cut off quickly by Sirius' elbow and James cut in quickly, "that Lily is too nosy. Mind your own business girls!"  
  
Lily flounced off haughtily, wondering about Remus. She considered stopping by the Hospital ward herself, but could not think of a reason to go.   
  
Classes were tense all day. Lily was debating whether or not to fake a headache to get into the sick ward, and the boys were plotting secretively through all the classes. Lily hated being left out.  
  
James settled Lily's silent debate during charms class, when he accidentally enlarged her nose quite a bit. Embarrassed and angry, Lily stormed off to the hospital ward, forgetting completely that she was headed towards her ultimate destination, and with a legitimate excuse no less. But James had got to her, and with her embarrassment over her huge nose, she failed to notice that a certain Gryffindor was not in the hospital wing.  
  
In fact, she was halfway back to her dorm when the fact hit her that Remus was not there. James and Sirius had been right. Where was Remus Lupin?

* * *

Lily didn't even consider letting this lie. the very next day she interrogated James, then Sirius, then finally Peter. Her first two subjects proved a bit stubborn. the third time she stuck gold.  
  
"Well, um . . . James said. . . I'm not supposed to tell, but. . ." Peter trailed off, looking a bit nervous.  
  
Lily knew very well how to turn a person's nervousness to her advantage. "Don't you worry. Peter, James and Sirius will never find out. Plus, I really want to know what they said, and you seem like you would know what's going on. You always seem so smart Peter," Lily purred.  
  
Sure enough Peter gave in after that little display. "Remus is a werewolf," Peter blurted out. "Well, at least that's what James and Sirius think."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. She figured that Peter didn't know the truth. the whole werewolf thing seemed like a lie planted by the two boys. They probably knew better than to confide in Peter.  
  
"Are you sure that's what they said?" Lily asked skeptically.  
  
Peter nodded. "Sirius said that Remus is always gone on the full moon, and is allergic to silver, so that means he is werewolf."  
  
"Boys!" Lily muttered in annoyance, upset that the mystery was solved. there was nothing wrong with Remus Lupin. James and Sirius were just playing games. Who would actually believe that dumb story about a werewolf anyway?

* * *

Although Lily did not buy the whole werewolf idea, she was worried about Remus when he returned to class covered in scratches. Now that she though about it, she remembered seeing such abrasions on him last month after his disappearance. He had said he was going to visit his family. Perhaps that was where he had gone this time as well, thought Lily. She wondered if he came from an abusive family.  
  
"It just doesn't make any sense," Lily complained to Brittany.  
  
"Lily!" Brittany sounded exasperated. "When will you learn to mind your own business?"  
  
"Where would be the fun in that?" Lily made a face.

* * *

With Remus and the battle of the sexes to occupy their minds, none of the Gryffindors were expecting the Slytherins to strike.

* * *

One morning at breakfast, Lily was engaged in a quality conversation with Dora. Brittany too, was present, but her mind seemed to be in other places. Suddenly a great commotion arose from the first year boys.  
  
Sirius and James were jumping around wildly, feathers sprouting out of their arms, while Remus shrunk down to miniature size, his mouth shrinking and hardening into a narrow beak. In the place where Peter had been sitting, there was now a frantic chicken, squawking and carrying about madly. Lily watched in horror and fascination as the other boys continued to transform.   
  
Soon, all that was left of the troublesome four were a group of barnyard animals. Lily watched in amazement, until she noticed Malfoy and Terrance exchanging high fives. Lily narrowed her eyes.  
  
It was quite a bit of fun watching the chicken that had been Sirius go after the now terrified form of Severus Snape. The chickens all seemed strangely intent on pecking his eyes out.  
  
Even more amusing, to the Gryffindors at least, was watching Professor Ludwick, attempt to break up the pecking fest by trying to restrain all four chickens and escort them to his office to deliver detentions to the troublesome animals.  
  
After much chaos, Dumbledore restored the chickens to their natural form. Peter continued to peck at Severus with his chin, long after he had returned to human form. Both Snape and Malfoy had to be escorted to the Hospital wing due to massive chicken related injuries.  
  
Later that day in potions, Terrance pulled Lily aside while Malfoy and James were going at it.  
  
"You might want to reconsider the company you keep if you want to go far in this school," Terrance warned venomously. "If you aren't careful you might get dragged down with them."  
  
Lily only shrugged and jerked away. "Better them than a greasy Slytherin like you!"  
  
She then went back to her seat to argue with James. Given the choice, she would pick James's company over Terrance's no matter how annoying the messy haired Gryffindor could be. James and his friends could be annoying, but Terrance made her skin crawl.

* * *

As December set in, so did the cold. Lily began to spend more and more time indoors, forsaking her usual havens. One day, the castle awoke to see flakes of snow drifting down past the windowsills. That day, after lessons all the student braved the outdoors to partake in a good old fashioned snowball fight. Well, at least it was semi-old fashioned.  
  
Lily was reluctant to join in, but Brittany wouldn't let her just sit indoors on such a momentous event.   
  
"Come on Lily! It'll be fun. You need to have some fun sometimes you know?" Brittany urged.  
  
Lily scrunched up her nose in indecision. "I don't know. . . It's so cold out side and I don't want to get soaked in snow."  
  
At that moment Sirius showed up. Well actually, he kind of sprinted down the hallway and collided into the group of girls head first. Dora and Brittany toppled over, and Brittany dropped her bag.   
  
"Geez Sirius! You're a maniac," Brittany exclaimed.  
  
"No time to chat. Snow fight!" Sirius half shouted as he dashed away.  
  
Brittany helped her friends to their feet and managed to coerce them to join in.  
  
It turned out to be a great time. Lily got thoroughly soaked, but managed to get some good hits in. She hit James smack in the center of his face with one, and was pursued by the energetic avenger for nearly five minutes before she surrendered and emerged with her hands in the air. James, lacking all gentlemanly instincts grabbed her around the waist and dropped a huge snowball down the back of her robes, leaving Lily writhing in the snow and screaming threats at James.  
  
Sirius crept up at that point and just as James turned around he pelted a snowball at him, hard and then took off running and laughing like a madman.  
  
The chaos lasted for hours, and periodically Lily would creep inside, stealthily avoiding filch, the strict young caretaker, and warm herself up before heading back out to seek revenge on whoever was near.  
  
Just after sunset, Dumbledore joined in, and proved to be one of the more aggressive snowballers. He managed to get the better of Sirius, which was quite an accomplishment, as Sirius caused about as much damage as a small hurricane.  
  
Eventually Professor Feldman came out and began to usher students back into their dormitories. Even Dumbledore agreed that the day was over. A few students, such as Sirius and Brittany had overdone things quite a bit, and were suffering from various degrees of pneumonia and frostbite.  
  
After several doses of Madame Klase's warm up potion, Lily and her friends journeyed up to their dormitories where they lay awake, breathing in the atmosphere of winter, and dreaming of the fun times to come.  
  
The next day, Lily slept late and was awakened by Jackie Lyda, a curly black haired first year who shared her dorm.   
  
"You might want to get up. Charms Class starts in ten minutes." Jackie warned.  
  
Lily jumped out of bed, annoyed that Brittany and Dora had not woken her when they left. Grumbling, she pulled on a clean set of robes and for good measure threw on her cloak. Lily took a minute to run her fingers through her hair and brush her teeth before rushing down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, and then out into the hall.  
  
She was in such a hurry that she almost didn't see Peter magically suspended from the sword of one of the castle's suits of armor. She probably would have missed him if he had not been calling out to her.  
  
When Lily saw him, her face turned red with anger. Peter was hanging from his underwear, which had been pulled up wedgie-style, and was crying pathetically and calling out for help. She felt sorry for the poor boy, who often seemed to be target for older kids and Slytherins to pick on. Peter always seemed to get the short end of the stick. Lily wanted to hurt whoever had done this immensely.  
  
Just then Sirius, James and Remus came around a corner, walking quickly and whispering conspiratorially.  
  
"Hurry up guys we're going to be late for class," Remus sighed.  
  
"Remus my man. Haven't you noticed by now? We are always late." Sirius replied casually.  
  
The three boys stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Peter. At first Lily thought they might make fun of him. She soon saw how wrong she was when James and Remus quickly helped him down.   
  
"Who did this Peter?" James asked the sobbing boy.  
  
Peter wiped the side of his plump hand against his cheek as if to hide his crying and looked down embarrassed. "Well you see, it was one of the buh. . .bih. . . bigger boys," Peter stuttered nervously, as if he thought that James might hit him, "the Slytherin Quidditch Captain I think, and a few of his friends."   
  
"The Slytherin Captain, you must mean Barty Crouch. Well the barmy little asshole!" Sirius muttered. "Don't worry Pete. We'll get him for you. It turns out we don't like Slytherins very much. And Crouch is the worst sort of Slytherin."  
  
Peter stared up at Sirius and James in admiration. "Wo. . . Wou. . . Would you really?"   
  
James glanced at Sirius and then at Remus. "Well yeah. In fact, why don't you help us? I'm sure between the four of us, we can come up with a pretty good prank."  
  
Lily smiled at the boys. She hadn't expected this from them and she was beginning to wonder if there might be more to them than troublemakers. "Are you okay Peter?" she asked worriedly.  
  
Peter nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. they do much worse usually. One time they. . ." he suddenly seemed to be embarrassed by his confession and returned his gaze to the floor.  
  
"Well come on then, we'll be late for Charms if we don't hurry. Yes Sirius, I know you are always late, but we have Lily, Peter and I to think about today so I suggest we get going."  
  
Somehow Lily was confused. James and Sirius could be so cruel sometimes, mainly when dealing with Severus. The way that the three boys had treated Peter was unexpected to say the least. 


	11. Book 1 Chapter 11

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 11- Cheer and Chaos**

* * *

After the incident in the corridor, it seemed that the boys spent a lot more time with Peter, and he became one of the group. The foursome seemed to be concocting some sort of scheme involving barnyard animals and revenge on the Slytherins.  
  
Meanwhile, the Winter Holidays were approaching and most students were looking forward to the break from school.  
  
While Lily couldn't wait to see her parents, she dreaded spending a whole two weeks with Petunia. She knew that she would also miss her friends from school. The castle had become her home over the past few months, and it felt strange to think of leaving it, even for a short time.  
  
Dora had begun to talk excitedly about the holidays, she couldn't wait to see all of her friends at home. Brittany however, seemed a little less eager to leave the castle.  
  
"Hurrah!" Brittany spoke sarcastically, "Two whole weeks of mothballs and knitting. My grandmother is so boring."  
  
"Why do you live with your grandmother Brittany?" Lily asked impetuously, before realizing what a personal question she was asking.  
  
Brittany turned pale and huffy. "I don't want to talk about it." She quickly turned away and stalked off without further comment.  
  
Dora winced and Lily blushed. "I didn't know it was such a touchy subject," Lily sighed.  
  
On the last day before the Holidays, all students were allowed to go on a special trip to Hogsmeade with Dumbledore's permission. This was a big deal to the younger students because ordinarily, only fourth years and above were allowed to go.  
  
For once, Lily did not stick closely with Brittany and Dora, for they were on her shopping list, and all three of them wanted to split up.  
  
Lily found a magical duster which operated of it's own free will for her mother. She thought this a particularly apt gift, as Lily herself was often stuck with the tedious task of dusting, and magical duster would eliminate this chore altogether.  
  
For her father, Lily bought an ordinary looking square box, with lids on each side. When each lid was opened a new compartment appeared, so one could fit numerous objects into a very small box.  
  
Lily got Dora a small wizard chess set, as she was very good at the game but did not have a set of her own. And for Brittany, she bought a all sorts of wizard candy and put them in a pretty silver bag tied with a gold ribbon.  
  
That left her with the unpleasant task of Petunia's gift. Every year Lily got her big sister a gift, usually some impersonal, useful object which Petunia would accept with an impassive face. Petunia's gifts were usually of the same sort. One year she had given Lily six pairs of plain white socks. Lily had given Petunia a pack of batteries.  
  
It was just that the two girls had so little in common. Lily used to try to get her big sister to like her, but eventually she realizes that no matter what she did, Petunia would always see her as a nuisance.  
  
Lily only had twelve knuts left, so she splurged on a cheap brass souvenir spoon, and headed to The Three Broomsticks to spend her remaining knuts one of their famous butterbeers that she had heard so much about.  
  
When she entered the tavern, she saw Brittany sitting over in a corner, and headed over to greet her friend, making sure all of her gifts were safely hidden inside her bag.  
  
It was only when she reached the table that she noticed that Brittany was not alone. Sirius Black was sitting across from her and the two were engaged in what appeared to be serious conversation.  
  
Haughtily, Lily joined them, a bit put out at her friend for associating with one of James's friends. "Hello Brittany. Sirius." She sat down and waited for the waitress to come take her order.  
  
Brittany smiled at her friend, and oddly Sirius did too. "Well Lily, did you get all your shopping done? I got everything I need." She leaned forward secretively and carefully dug through her bags, withdrawing a small paint set that she had bought for Dora and an old fashioned mini piano which kept playing classical music. "The paints are for Dora, and the piano's for my grandma."  
  
Lily showed off most of her presents, withholding Petunia's and of course Brittany's own present.  
  
The girls decided to exchange gifts by mail over Christmas break.

* * *

The next morning, the students boarded the train in excitement. The holidays had begun.  
  
James was bouncing off the walls with excitement, he and the other boys were still in the midst of creating a plan to deal with the Slytherins. Only Sirius and Remus both seemed a bit melancholy.  
  
When the train finally arrived at the station, Lily climbed off the train behind her friends. Petunia was waiting along with Lily's parents looking sour as always.  
  
"Is that your sister?" Dora asked. "She would be pretty if her nose weren't up in the air so high, she looks like she's straining her neck."  
  
Lily giggled. "Yeah, she's always like that. I'm going to miss you Dora!" The two girls hugged, and then Brittany ran up and threw her arms around her two friends.  
  
"I love you guys!" Brittany squealed. "Please don't leave me with my Grandmother! Take me away, anywhere! I don't care where, just take me away!" Then Brittany pulled away from her friends, went into a fake swoon and ran over to Sirius to inflict some drama on him.  
  
When Lily was done with her goodbyes, she ran up to her parents, and was instantly enveloped in yet another group hug.  
  
Lily gabbed happily at her parents as they left the station. She was so happy that she barely noticed Remus standing by himself at the station. James and the others had already joined their families. She wondered where his parents were.

* * *

Petunia was silent on the way home. Lily was not. She chattered constantly about her friends and enemies, her teachers and classes. Lily's mom and dad were very interested in Lily's life, and were very proud of her accomplishments.  
  
It wasn't until Lily had been home for quite some time that Petunia decided to talk to her.  
  
Lily was in her room going through some of her old books when Petunia burst through the door.  
  
"Geez, can't you knock?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Hello Petunia."  
  
"Tomorrow my boyfriend is coming over and I just wanted to tell you that you will not be talking to him. If you so much as hint at your freakishness, I will make your break a living hell. I want you to stay in your room and not say a word about your. . .your. . .magic!"  
  
"No problem. It's not like I want to meet your loser boyfriend anyway. By the way, since when have you had a boyfriend?"  
  
"None of your business freak!" Petunia glared at her little sister and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Lily had no problem staying in her room. She loved her room.   
  
The walls were pale purple, and she had sheer glittery drapery over her doors and windows. Adorning her walls posters of her favorite movie stars and singers. Mementos of all of Lily's past hobbies covered the walls.   
  
Lily had had so many hobbies over the years, "phases" as her mother called them. She had ballet shoes hanging from a nail on the wall, that hobby had lasted almost two months, a violin stored under her bed, a basketball in her closet.  
  
Lily's room was a cluttered paradise.  
  
Petunia's room was spotless. Her walls were white and undecorated. There were no posters or even pictures. The only furniture in her room was a desk, a dresser and a bed, each neat and organized. Her comforter was a dark blue color with no flowers or frills.  
  
Lily hated Petunia's room. In her opinion it lacked any type of personality.

* * *

But as much as she wanted to stay in her room and avoid all contact with Petunia and her new boyfriend, Lily had to come out for dinner.  
  
Lily came to dinner dressed in ordinary muggle clothes with her hair neat and straight. Deep down, part of her still wanted to please Petunia.  
  
Petunia and her boyfriend were already at the table. At her mother's request Petunia introduced him as Vernon Dursley.  
  
At this point, Lily began to seriously question her sister's sanity. Vernon was large, to put it mildly, red faced, and ill mannered. Above all, he was boring.  
  
Through dinner, he talked monotonously about the stock market. At first Lily could see her parents trying very hard to act interested and be polite, but eventually they tried to change the subject. Lily wriggled restlessly in her chair.  
  
Vernon suddenly stopped talking and glared at the red head. "I say, will you sit still?"  
  
"I'm trying, it's just that, you're so very um, interesting that I find myself growing impatient." Lily stammered quickly, fearing her sister's wrath.  
  
Vernon stared at her icily and then began another boring speel, this one on the fiscal benefits of owning your own business.  
  
Lily couldn't wait for her meal to be over and for her parents to excuse her. She gladly spent the rest of the night hiding in her room.

* * *

The next morning Lily was awoken early by Petunia. "Last night you behaved absolutely atrociously! I expect that today you will be polite when Vernon comes to visit!"  
  
Lily gasped. "He's coming again? But that's not fair!"  
  
This time, Lily knew that she could not stand to sit through that, and being in her room all night was beginning to get a bit tiresome.

* * *

Vernon came over almost everyday during the holidays, and Lily was miserable. Only on Christmas did she get a break from him.  
  
Christmas was one day of her break that Lily enjoyed immensely. Petunia got her a new waste-paper basket. The rest of her gifts however were much more pleasing. Lily got a self stirring cauldron, a magical camera, and heaps of candy.  
  
She also got a magical makeup kit from Dora, some exploding snaps from Brittany, and a poster of the illustrious John Potter, from John Potter. John had also sent her a funny book full of prank ideas and a letter telling her to keep his brother in line.

* * *

Lily knew that she wasn't supposed to use magic over the break. Lily also knew that it was wrong to use magic on muggles. Yet Lily could not resist adding a few special ingredients into Vernon's pudding as directed by John's book.  
  
Dinner with Vernon was much more interesting when his speech about domestic policy was interrupted by his transformation into a toad.  
  
Petunia was horrified and went into a faint, and Lily's parents were very disappointed in her and forced her to deliver Vernon the antidote. Vernon was very huffy towards Lily after that, not to mention fearful. He left the house a few minutes later very pale and frightened. Petunia later managed to convince him that he had eaten some bad meat and underwent some hallucinations, but his attitude towards Lily was never the same.  
  
Petunia underwent a long period of crying and screaming and slapped her little sister several times.  
  
The mood was tense the following morning when Lily's parents escorted her to the train station. Petunia did not join them.  
  
"Good bye Lily! Remember we love you and we are very proud of you even when you and your sister squabble." Lily's mom gave her a hug goodbye."  
  
Lily said goodbye to her parents and then joined her friends on the train.   
  
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all sitting together and whispering excitedly but they all got quiet when Lily approached them.  
  
The trip back was fun. Lily told Brittany and Dora all about Vernon and how she had finally handled it. Dora was horrified, but Brittany was proud of her friend and even told the tale of Lily's prank to James and Sirius.  
  
Sirius laughed but James was not amused. "My brother sent you a book?"  
  
"Yeah, and a letter and a poster of himself! John's so funny." Lily smiled. "He said to keep you in check."  
  
James glared. "My brother doesn't like you. Stay away from him."   
  
Lily shrugged and rolled her eyes, going back to her friends to chat some more.

* * *

Most of the Gryffindors spent the evening in the common room, getting reacquainted with friends as if eons had passed between them. Some seventh year had managed to smuggle in some butterbeer and a good time was had by all.  
  
Lily was baffled however, that four first year boys were not to be seen.  
  
"What are they up to now?" Lily wondered aloud. 


	12. Book 1 Chapter 12

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 12- Marauders and Aurors**

* * *

Much to Lily's pleasure and James's disappointment, classes started the day after students arrived back, and all the professors seemed to be eager to assign as much work as possible.  
  
While James and Sirius slacked off and spent their time working to find new ways to cause trouble, Lily and Dora spent every waking moment in the library.  
  
"I don't understand how those two can get such good marks! They never study or do any work at all and yet they still are at the top of our class!" Lily fumed to her friend.  
  
"You don't do so badly yourself," Dora replied glumly. "You have top marks as well, but I am barely passing."  
  
But as devoted as Dora was, she was no match for Lily. At ten o'clock, when the library closed, Dora called it quits and agreed to meet Lily back in the dorm.   
  
Lily refused to leave so early. "Just a few more minutes!" she begged Mister Bluff, the librarian.   
  
Mister Bluff was a kind hearted elderly gentleman who judged a person's worth by the amount of time they spent engulfed in books. He deemed Lily trustworthy after seeing how devoted she was to her studies.  
  
"All right Lily, but you must promise to close up for me and trip the alarm when you go. Don't stay up to late." He gave in easily.  
  
It was a good three hours later when Lily finally braved a glance at the clock.  
  
"Oh no!" she yelled and jumped out of her chair. It was well past midnight and if she were caught by Filch, the young and mean caretaker, walking around this late she would surely get a detention.  
  
Lily hurriedly put away her books and locked up the library, not forgetting setting the alarm.  
  
Holding her breath, she dashed up towards the Gryffindor common room, praying silently that she wouldn't be caught. All went well until she reached the statue of Sir Ector de Marys. Lily was about to round the corner when she heard voices.  
  
Stopping dead in her tracks, Lily held her breath and pressed her thin body up against a wall, trying to flatten herself into nonexistence.  
  
"No, it was for real! I really think he's going to do it this time." Lily heard a masculine voice whispering around the corner. It sounded like an older boy.  
  
"Barty, are you sure? I mean Tom has the right ideas, but sooner or later he's going to get caught. People are beginning to suspect."  
  
Lily wrinkled up her forehead in consternation. One of the boys she supposed was Barty Crouch, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain. The other boy she couldn't identify. Whatever they were talking about, she was sure was none of her business, but somehow it caught her attention.  
  
"Who at Hogwarts knows?" another boy asked.  
  
"Only five or six people. Only I have sworn loyalty to him." Barty spoke softly.  
  
"You're crazy! What if you are caught? Think about it," at this point the unknown boy paused, seeming to survey his surroundings. Lily shrunk even further into the wall. This time he spoke in a whisper. "We have no idea what is going to happen next. I mean do you really think a bunch of kids, the oldest just out of school are going to be any sort of match against Aurors?"  
  
"If people support us we could!" Barty. "Please Devin, just think about it. The next meeting is on Sunday. Tom is going to announce our next target. Think about it, all the people you hate, gone! You are never going to have another chance like this. The power we will have, it will be enormous! If you pass this up, you will regret it."  
  
Lily listened intently, biting her lip in confusion. She shut her eyes as if it gave her a better chance of being invisible. It turned out it didn't matter anyway. The footsteps of the two boys faded down the hall, as they retreated.  
  
Letting out a sigh of relief, Lily turned and sprinted back to the Gryffindor common room, relieved to be home free.

* * *

The next morning Lily told Brittany and Dora about the conversation she had overheard. Neither of them could figure out what it meant.  
  
"I'm sure Sirius will figure it out," Brittany assured her friend.   
  
Lily's eyes got so wide that it looked as if they would pop out of her skull. "No way Brittany! You can't tell anyone! This is our secret, understand? I don't want them knowing I was out past midnight, eavesdropping! Besides, if it got back to Barty or the other boy, I'd be so embarrassed!"  
  
Reluctantly, Brittany agreed to keep her mouth shut. Dora didn't need telling, she wasn't the kind of girl who gossiped and told secrets.

* * *

During Potions, Ludwick decided to surprise the students with a back to school pop quiz. Each student and their lab partner were expected to come up with a potion to cure warts. Lily and James set aside their differences and worked hard to coordinate their efforts.  
  
Most importantly they double checked the ingredients that the other had already added. When the potion was finished, Lily was pleased that it turned a dull yellow color, which meant it had worked. Ludwick couldn't possibly fail them now, not after the potion turned out perfectly.  
  
Nonetheless, Ludwick found plenty of petty points to reprimand the duo for, such as the particles of Eloidea leaf which were still visible. "You should have sliced the leaves thinner! Five points from Gryffindor."  
  
He found Terrance and Malfoy's potion perfect however, despite the fact that it was nearly boiling over.  
  
"I hate Ludwick! They shouldn't hire teachers who only pick on the kids they don't like!" James complained later that day.  
  
Lily smiled half heartedly. "At least he passed us. And he only took ten points from our house today, that's better than usual."  
  
"Yeah, but he awarded twenty to Slytherin." James rolled his eyes. "I wish Lacy were so biased."  
  
Just then Lily noticed that she was conversing with James and quickly found somewhere else to be.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Professor Ludwick came storming across the dining hall. He stopped next to the Gryffindor table, right next to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, who were all trying very hard to maintain straight faces.  
  
"This morning I awoke to a most unusual sound. Can any of you boys guess what it was?" Ludwick spoke calmly at first, but by the time he reached the last word his face was purple with rage.  
  
The boys shook their heads solemnly and the rest of the table looked on with interest.  
  
"I HEARD CHICKENS!" Ludwick bellowed.  
  
"I think he's finally lost it," Brittany whispered to Lily.  
  
Ludwick stood still and shifted his gaze over to the girls. "So I got out of bed. . .and I saw chickens, hundreds of chickens in the Slytherin common room. I don't know who did this, but I swear I am going to find out. And when I do," Ludwick clenched his fist and shook it violently, "I will make sure that the individual responsible will be expelled, permanently."  
  
When Ludwick was out of hearing range, four Gryffindor first years broke into hysterical laughter, and the older students all came by to congratulate them.  
  
Lily tolerated the noise for a few minutes, and then she rose and approached the boys. James grew silent as she approached. "Hey Lily, come to congratulate me as well?"  
  
"If you four are done marauding about, you might want to consider going to charms class. I wouldn't want Gryffindor to lose any more points on account of you!" She spoke tartly.  
  
Sirius cackled and clutched his sides. "Well actually, we're not quite done marauding yet! Marauding, where do you get those big words Lily? You sound like a dictionary!"  
  
"Humph. . .boys!" Lily wanted to say something else, but her vocabulary suddenly deserted her. She turned icily on her heel and hurried to Charms. She was the only one.  
  
"It kind of has a nice sound to it. The Marauders. . . I can see it," James smiled winningly.  
  
"Yeah, the Marauders. That sounds like we're celebrities," Peter mused wistfully.  
  
"I don't know about celebrities, but it does have a ring to it." Remus decided.  
  
None of them could guess just how long the name would stick.

* * *

What with mid terms from all of her classes, and Ludwick's insane investigation techniques, Lily did not have time to further examine the odd conversation she had heard in the halls a few nights before. Her natural curiosity was quenched with the sudden downpour of homework.  
  
And Lily did study quite a bit. It seemed to her as if she did twice the work as everybody else. After she learned the material she would always work with Dora until she too understood.

* * *

By Friday all the students were relieved to have completed their mid term tests. Lily was relaxing in the Gryffindor common room, happy to be out of the library for once, when Lacy entered the common room.  
  
"Attention Gryffindors! Tonight at seven o'clock there will be a special assembly. Tell all of your friends and make sure everyone attends." She announced.  
  
"What do you think it is?" Brittany asked Lily.  
  
Lily shrugged, "I dunno, probably just some dumb end of mid-terms thing."  
  
The girls turned their attention back to the magical fortune tellers they were playing with. Lily gasped as hers predicted her tragic demise by crocodile.

* * *

Despite herself, Lily could not help getting excited before the assembly. Assemblies at Hogwarts were never boring by her standards.   
  
But when she arrived, her excitement gave way to confusion.  
  
Dumbledore was sitting in front of the students, in a semicircle including all of the Hogwarts teachers, James's father and brother, Frank Longbottom, and several people whom Lily didn't recognize.  
  
She didn't seem to be the only one who was surprised at the solemn air that filled the Great Hall. James looked shocked as well, and attempted to communicate with his father and brother, but Dumbledore asked him politely to take a seat.  
  
"All will be clarified in a moment," Dumbledore announced. "Kindly take your seats and wait for the rest of the school to get situated."  
  
When all of the giggling and whispering finally subsided and when all of the students were safely in their seats, with their eyes fixed on the strange gathering, Dumbledore finally cleared his throat.  
  
"Welcome Hogwarts students. I suppose many of you are wondering why you were called here today. No Sirius Black, I am not promoting you to Head Boy."   
  
There was a tittering of laughter from the Gryffindor section.  
  
"I am sorry to announce that we are gathered here on much more serious business," Dumbledore turned his gaze to the Slytherins. "As many of you know, Voldemort, a young and dangerous wizard has been found responsible for several recent killings, the first of which was Hogwart's very own previous head boy, Tom Riddle."  
  
At this, Dumbledore bowed his head and the other students followed suit. Lily wondered what he had been like, it felt unreal imagining a Hogwarts student dead.  
  
"Very soon many of you will be graduating, and entering the real world. Many paths are becoming open to you, and the choices you make will be of more importance than you know. The sad and frightening truth is that I believe that any one of you could find yourself victim to this Dark Wizard and his followers. Doubtless some of your parents will strongly disapprove of my telling you this, but it is my opinion that this Voldemort will be a bigger threat than any of us can imagine."  
  
Pausing a moment, to look into the faces of the students, Dumbledore continued. "Tonight I would like to introduce you to the Council of the Right. As many of you may notice, all of the Hogwarts teachers are involved with this Council, as well as many Aurors and some young Aurors in training."  
  
Dumbledore motioned towards John and he grinned and gave a mock salute to the crowd. Lily turned behind her and whispered to James.   
  
"I didn't know your brother was an Auror in training!" Lily hissed.  
  
James shrugged. "Neither did I. My father is an auror, but I never knew John wanted to be one." He looked a bit queasy.  
  
Not wanting to be disruptive, Lily turned back around to listen to the others speak.  
  
"The Council of the Right is here to try and protect the public and prevent further incidents involving Dark Magic. It seems that Voldemort is beginning to gain quite a following," Dumbledore let his eyes drift suspiciously towards the Slytherin's, "They call themselves the death eaters and are nearly as dangerous as Voldemort himself."  
  
The others went on to introduce themselves. When Frank Longbottom introduced himself, several Quidditch fans screamed and cheered, and when it was John's turn, quite a few students went wild, including Lily.   
  
Many of the older Council-persons looked cross, but Dumbledore's face showed a hint of a smile.  
  
After the assembly was over, all the students had serious thoughts on their mind. For the first time ever, Lily began to see the horror of Voldemort. If the Aurors, trained adult wizards, could not stop him, Lily didn't know who could.   
  
"He's very powerful, isn't he?" she asked Sirius on the way back to the common room.  
  
Sirius seemed much more quiet and well, serious after the assembly. "Very," Sirius nodded gravely. "More than you know."  
  
"And you know so much, I presume?" her voice turned defensive.  
  
"I have my ways," Sirius insisted coldly.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't lie Sirius."  
  
"I'm not!"  
  
"Whatever," Lily sighed and turned away.  
  
Just then Lily felt hands cover her eyes. She instantaneously resorted to her gut instinct. She spun on her heel and connected her knee with her attackers groin.  
  
She felt bad when she saw John gasping behind her. After a moment he winced and grinned. "Oh John, I'm sorry!"  
  
"Don't apologize, Dragons always have fangs. They wouldn't be any fun if they weren't dangerous. Are you making my brother's life miserable?"   
  
Lily laughed and nodded. Then she sobered and reprimanded him, "I am not a dragon. Call me Lily. That is my name. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn it."  
  
"And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that you are no lily. Sorry, but you are a dragon if I have ever seen one." John answered and then reached down and ruffled her hair.  
  
"Hey!" Lily yelled and kicked him hard in the shins.  
  
John bellowed and his little brother walked in.  
  
James looked coldly at Lily, "What did you do to him?"  
  
"Jamesie!" John called playfully and ruffled his brother's hair as well.  
  
Brittany laughed, suddenly appearing from behind an armchair. "Lily! Your hair! You look like James!" with that she collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles.  
  
Lily glared at John and smoothed her hair as quickly as she could. James managed to look equally offended.  
  
"John, why didn't you tell me you were going to be an auror?" James asked indignantly.  
  
John shrugged. "I thought I'd wait until the assembly and let you be surprised. Don't be mad little brother, you know now."  
  
"Are you going to stay at Hogwarts tonight?" Lily asked, still trying to hide her happiness at seeing the older boy.  
  
"Nah, I'd like to but I've got Quidditch practice in the morning," John said impatiently.  
  
Lily tried her best not to look too disappointed. 


	13. Book 1 Chapter 13

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 13- Wizard Hearts and Letters**

* * *

The next morning over breakfast there was much conversation regarding the famous John Potter.  
  
"He's so cool!" Sirius bragged, "Not only is he a famous Quidditch player but now he is an auror too! I wish my brother were like that."  
  
James grinned, proud and glad for the attention.  
  
Lily however was not buying in. "Hmmph," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "So what if he's an auror. I wouldn't want to be one anyway."  
  
James scooted down the bench to sit next to the red head. "Oh but Lily, Aurors are so cool! They are always going on adventures and catching bad guys and solving mysteries! Of course it is a dangerous job, but somebody has to do it. And they get to be famous if they catch some bad guys."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes again. It was getting to be a familiar reflex. "Yeah, but I bet mostly they just sit around and do paperwork. Anyways, Aurors get killed a lot. I wouldn't want to be one."  
  
"Well your just a girl anyways. Aurors have to be really brave and strong and smart!" James raved, not noticing how Lily's eyes were narrowing dangerously.  
  
"What's that have to do with it?" she asked hostilely. "Girls are smarter than boys and braver and sometimes even stronger."  
  
James laughed. "Girls are not stronger than boys. Boys are way stronger."  
  
"Wanna bet?" Lily glared.  
  
"Yeah but I wouldn't want to embarrass you. You're just a little girl." He taunted, getting into the mood now.  
  
With that, Lily jumped out of her seat, physically pushed James out of his seat and dumped her carton of milk over his head. Then she noticed that everyone was watching her little display, so she turned quickly and ran back to the common room.  
  
"Oh Dora I hate him!" she vented, during Defense Against the Dark Arts later that day. "I don't know how you put up with him, honestly. 'Boys are better than girls' humph! I can't believe I'm going to have to deal with him for six more years!"  
  
Despite her grievances Lily stopped complaining when Professor Lacy began to talk to the class about basic hex blocking charms. There was nothing which could calm Lily down better than good old fashioned school work. Besides, she found some of the material very interesting.  
  
Ever since the assembly, many of the students had been more eager than usual to pay attention in Defense against the Dark Arts. "After all," Lily chided, "It could save your life!"  
  
James and the other Marauders were more interested in their studies as well, but for another reason. It had instantly become the boys' ambition to become like James' older brother. Being an auror was now the cool thing to be.  
  
First, Lacy took turns sending a mild jelly legs curse towards each student, and they had to block it in time.  
  
Lily had no trouble blocking the curse, but Peter and Dora had no such luck.  
  
"I want you to get into pairs and practice. Remember, only use the jelly legs curse." Professor Lacy instructed.  
  
Lily quickly grabbed Brittany's arm before Dora got a chance to catch her eye. Lily loved Dora to death but she would prefer a partner who knew what she was doing.  
  
Lily and Brittany took turns blocking the hex perfectly, with no mistakes or unfortunate catastrophes. Dora too, managed to block the hex, but her partner, Remus, looked a bit queasy when she attempted to send a jelly legs spell his way. She ended up, much to the amusement of the class covering his hair in Jello.  
  
Luckily, Remus only laughed and did not blame poor Dora, once Professor Lacy righted the situation.  
  
James and Sirius seemed to be trying their hardest to out do each other in the creative curse department, neither of them considered sticking to the jelly legs hex. And while both boys were fairly proficient at blocking curses, they found that laughter made their reflexes grow much slower, and James ended up with icicles protruding from his nose, while Sirius started to grow another head. The result was a little funny, but mostly just frightening, and the pair was sent to the hospital wing at once.

* * *

The next morning when Lily entered the dining hall, she was surprised at the subdued and gloomy atmosphere. With the exception of several Slytherins, the entire school seemed to be a bit downcast.  
  
Lily grabbed a seat in between Remus and Brittany. "What's going on?" she whispered. "Why is everyone so depressed?"  
  
Brittany said nothing, but handed her a copy of the Daily Prophet.  
  
The picture on the front page caught Lily's attention. It depicted a small cottage with the symbol of a skull with a snake protruding from it's mouth looming over the scene. Lily recognized the sign as the Dark Mark, which Voldemort left behind after he killed.  
  
Lily read the headline fearfully, reluctant to see what horrors it might hold.  
  
"Three Aurors and Two Muggles Dead in Latest Voldemort Killing," it read. Lily gasped and skimmed through the article. With Sirius's father an auror, and John Potter training to become one, the article hit home. Luckily, Lily did not know any of the wizards who had been killed.  
  
"It's weird, you know," James spoke softly, "that he could have taken out three aurors like that. Just killed them, snuffed them right out, like they weren't even a challenge to him." His voice wavered and Lily wondered if he was worrying about his brother.  
  
The table sat quietly for a while. Finally Peter spoke, his voice panicky and high pitched, "Suppose we can't fight him? What if we aren't strong enough? Do you know what I think, I think that no one alive can defeat Voldemort. I think that he will kill everyone!"  
  
"Peter!" Sirius shouted in annoyance. "Don't be ridiculous. This incident was unfortunate, but I'm sure there are aurors out there who can beat him. Voldemort might be strong, but he is not invincible."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure," Peter commented glumly.  
  
Something about Peter's tone repulsed Lily. It was as if he had already given up. She felt sorry for him, he was always the weak one, the once who was afraid; but she could never condone his passive behavior.

* * *

In potions, the students were learning a particularly difficult concoction, which detected the presence of a harmful solution in a drink.  
  
"Pay attention students! For this potion could possibly save your lives," Ludwick announced, and then under his breath he added, "if they are even worth saving."  
  
Lily and James were working together, as usual, and Ludwick seemed in a particularly bad humor. He patrolled the room anxiously, stopping frequently to insult them on some minor detail or another.  
  
Near the end of class, Ludwick announced that he would randomly be testing student's potions by distributing glasses of liquid, some poisoned, some not, and forcing the students to drink them if they could not detect some sort of harmful poison with their solution.  
  
Lily and James were not afraid, for once their potion had turned out perfectly. The two had worked out a system to divide up the labor. Lily did the first half of the potion, and James the second. This way they had fewer clashes, and their margin of error was reduced by quite a bit.  
  
Dora and Peter however, seemed to be sweating it quite a bit.  
  
Ludwick picked up on this, and selected them to test their solution. Instead of emitting a yellow glow, to indicate a poison present, the solution turned an alarming orange color and proceeded to advance to a rolling boil.  
  
"Well, as strange as that effect is, it does not indicate a poison. Kindly digest your liquid." Ludwick ordered, his lips twisted into a cruel smile.  
  
"But it's boiling hot!" Peter protested weakly.  
  
"Fine," Ludwick turned on them, scowling magnificently. "Detentions for you both then!"  
  
Snape and Malfoy could be heard sniggering from the back of the classroom. Lily turned and shot them an evil glare.

* * *

That night, Brittany mused on how lucky she had been so far. "Wow, I can't believe the two of you have both received detentions, and I have not a mark to my name! And I'm probably the baddest of the three of us!"  
  
Dora shrugged sadly. "I hope my mother doesn't find out. She'll be ever so disappointed at me. And I'm sure to have bad marks as well!"  
  
"Don't worry Dora! Detentions are nothing! I bet you'll have to do something very easy. You can always convince Peter to do the work for you, you know," Lily tried to cheer her friend up.  
  
"Nice try Lily! I still remember how miserable you were after your first Detention. I only hope mine's not with Ludwick." Dora shuddered, recalling Lily's state following her horrible detention spent in the dungeons with James.

* * *

On a cheerier note, the weather was beginning to improve a bit. Near the end of January, Dumbledore announced that in honor of St. Valentines day, a special ball would be held for fourth years and above. Younger students were to have a special Valentines day feast instead, as they were considered too young and immature to attend the ball.  
  
Lily couldn't imagine why anyone would want to attend a ball, and she dreaded the thought of even attending the feast, but in the end, she agreed to go. She knew that there was no use in avoiding the day all together.  
  
Most of the Muggle-born first years did not have dress robes, and this included Lily. Luckily, Brittany had robes to spare, and lent both Lily and Dora sets.  
  
Lily's robes were a pale pink, which Elisabeth Ester told her clashed horribly with her hair. But Brittany and Dora convinced Lily that she was one of the few red-heads who could actually pull off the color and ultimately Lily resigned to wearing the robes.  
  
Dora's robes were gold, and were the oldest of Brittany's three sets, but Brittany managed to spruce it up magically, and Dora too, ended up looking nice.  
  
Brittany's own robes were a dark green, and spotted with tiny white flowers, which added a very pretty touch. All of the other girls were jealous of Brittany, for she had the prettiest robes of any of the Gryffindor first years.

* * *

When they entered the hall, Lily was very careful to be seated between her two friends, mortified at the thought of being associated with any one boy on Valentines day.   
  
Dumbledore stood out among the students, wearing bright red robes in honor of the holiday. He stood and raised his goblet at the start of the feast. "Hello young students! Although you are not to be attending the ball this evening, I hope that you will have a wonderful time! Here's to young love!"  
  
Students dutifully raised their glasses. Lily rolled her eyes as she did so.  
  
Instantly the tables were filled with a variety of goodies. Unlike at other occasions, the food present seemed to be composed entirely of sweets. There was ice cream, and cookies; chocolates and cakes; as well as hundreds of other mouth watering deserts. Along with these, were an abundance of wizard hearts, fist sized candies that came with a packet of magical frosting, with which the giver could write a message which would disappear, and appear only when arriving in the hands of the recipient.  
  
Lily ignored the wizard hearts all together, concentrating instead on the platter of pastries which lay before her. She shot Brittany a dirty look when the girl received a wizard heart from Sirius, and proceeded to giggle mysteriously.  
  
When Lily felt she could eat no more, she shoved her plate away dramatically, and leaned back in her chair. She stretched luxuriously, and then smarted as she was pelted in the head with something hard.  
  
Lily turned quickly enough to see James darting forward to hide his face, and giggling madly with Sirius.  
  
She glared and picked up the item which had been thrown at her. It was a wizard heart.  
  
Lily's face grew even more red with fury as the message popped up. "Lily, my love, will you be my valentine?" She was just about to chuck it back at him when the message faded and a new one popped up. "P.S. your head was the biggest target!"  
  
"James! You jerk!" Lily cried, chucking the offending candy back in his direction.  
  
Unfortunately she missed, hitting Sirius instead, who decided to take it personal, and took off chasing Lily around the room, as she shrieked and dashed away.  
  
Finally Sirius desisted, and Lily had a chance to catch her breath. She stopped in time to hear, a blond Slytherin girl, who looked alarmingly like Petunia had at her age comment, "This is why first years are not allowed to the ball," in a snide tone.  
  
"Why Narcissa," a boy sitting next to her interceded, "You are a first year."  
  
"Yes," Narcissa wrinkled her nose, "But I am better than them, you see."  
  
Lily made a point to laugh loud enough for the girl to hear. "Better than us, what a riot!" Then she dashed over to her friends to ridicule James further, and complain about how badly she had been insulted.  
  
At one point, Severus made his way over to Lily with a strange look on his face. He thrust a heart in Lily's face and grimaced. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked loudly.  
  
Lily looked at him confused for a moment and then read the heart.  
  
"Dearest Severus, I love you and your greasy hair! Love forever, Lily," the heart read.  
  
"What!?" Lily shrieked in horror. "I didn't write this."  
  
She turned her gaze in the direction of the Marauders, all of which were laughing at an alarming volume.   
  
"Who did this?" Lily cried dangerously, ignoring Snape completely. "Sirius?" she asked warningly, as he slapped the table in mirth. "James?" Then she turned cunningly. "Peter?"  
  
Peter turned red and blurted out, "It was James! Not me! I didn't do it!"  
  
At that point, the hall erupted in chaos. Sirius instantly started yelling at Peter, Brittany fell off her seat in hysterics, Severus threw the wizard heart at Lily, missing and hitting a second year hufflepuff instead and Lily chased the terrified James across the hall, finally cornering him and proceeding to hit him over the head repeatedly with a spoon.  
  
It took quite some time for everybody to calm down, despite Remus's best attempts to make peace.

* * *

The next morning, Lily awoke in a surprisingly good mood. Dora and Brittany had already left the dorm, so Lily headed downstairs to the common room alone, and collapsed in a large easy chair, deciding that since there were no classes for over an hour, she might as well wait for her two friends to come along.  
  
A few minutes later, she grew impatient. Neither Brittany nor Dora had arrived, but a group of older students were huddled together, sighing dramatically and speaking in whispers. Lily had no wish to overhear, so she turned her head and considered going back upstairs.  
  
At that moment, James tumbled noisily down the stairs, being chased by Sirius and Remus, the latter of which was tiredly rubbing his eyes.  
  
Lily noticed that the students in the corner suddenly grew hushed and began to stare at the boys. One of them said something that sounded like, "Poor James!" under her breath.  
  
James looked confused but didn't pay very much attention to them.  
  
Sirius, grabbed Lily by the wrist, pulling her out of the chair. "Come on Lily! Breakfast time!"  
  
"I don't want to eat with you!" she protested, to no avail.  
  
"Don't be lazy, my little red head! I need someone to pester. You are now my next target!"  
  
With that, she gave in and allowed herself to be coerced down to the Dining hall.  
  
When they entered the hall, all eyes turned to them, and silence overtook the hall. "Who died?" Sirius joked, only to find himself subject to various degrees of cold glares.  
  
Lily sat down next to Brittany, and James ended up on her other side, much to her dissatisfaction. Something strange was definitely going on here, Lily thought. People were whispering and everyone was staring.  
  
Just then an owl swept down and dropped a letter to James. "I bet it's from John," he bragged to Lily condescendingly. "He has another match coming up soon, and I doubt you are invited this time!"  
  
Lily glared, "Maybe he just wrote to tell you how much he likes me better than you! Don't be upset," she droned on, "I am so much less annoying."  
  
Sirius snorted and Lily turned her fire gaze in his direction. Meanwhile, Brittany tugged at Lily's sleeve. Lily brushed her off, curious about James's letter.  
  
She gazed around watching people around her, not understand why they were all staring and whispering. She figured it must be some new rumor, doubtless started by some Slytherins. Lily decided to pay no attention to it.  
  
She glanced back at James, noticing his face had gone pale and he was clenching the letter rather tightly.   
  
"What is it Potter?" Lily taunted, still angry from last night's fiasco. "Did your brother get kicked off the Quidditch team? Or perhaps it's from a doctor, telling you that stupidity does run in the family!"  
  
"Lily!" hissed Brittany in an urgent and horrified tone, and gave her friend a quick blow to the arm.  
  
In a swift and angry motion, James violently reached out, and shoved Lily as hard as he could. Startled, Lily toppled off her chair, tangling her legs. She screamed as she fell, and lay on the ground for a moment. She had hit her head against the table and it throbbed quite a bit.  
  
James stood and looked terrified, his eyes seeming wild and alone. His lip quivered and he mouthed an apology, before rushing out the doorway as fast as he could, the letter a wad on the floor beside the red haired girl.  
  
Lily was both shocked and confused. She fought back tears of outrage and hurt at being shoved to the floor in such a callous manner. Now people around her were looking at her and talking more loudly. Blushing furiously, Lily grabbed the letter and made a dash out the same door which James had gone through.  
  
Once she was safely out of range of the Dining Hall, Lily unfolded the letter, tears of humiliation and pain running down her face.  
  
Dear James,  
  
I am so sorry to tell you this, and you may have already heard. Your brother was killed last night in a raid of an Auror's meeting by Voldemort. I know it must be very tough to hear this, and we are all still in shock. He died very bravely, standing up for what he believed in and I know he would have been very proud of you. I think it would be best if you returned home next weekend. The funeral will be held as soon as possible. I am sending a letter to Professor Dumbledore to excuse you from your next few classes. James, if you need to talk we are here for you.  
  
Love,   
  
Mom and Dad


	14. Book 1 Chapter 14

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 14- Closets and Cake**

* * *

Lily stood, still as stone, for a several minutes, in shock. Eventually, Sirius came out and put his arm around her shoulders, this convinced her to move.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she shouted and pushed Sirius off her, before taking off running down the hall in the direction which she had seen James go.  
  
When she was sure that Sirius was not following her, Lily stopped running, out of breath, and crying freely. She found herself in a part of the castle that she had never been before and wiping her eyes, she walked shakily down the corridor, not sure where she was going.  
  
Eventually, the path came out by the library. The hall was silent, except for the faint sound of breathing. Lily stopped and listened, pressing her ear to the wall. She determined the sound was coming from a small door off to her left.  
  
Walking silently, Lily approached the door, and listened to the ragged sound of breath. Some instinct made her wipe her eyes before she clasped the knob in her hand and turned it slowly.  
  
Inside, she surveyed the room, it was nothing but a small closet, filled with a bucket and mops, for use by filch.  
  
Sitting on the floor, and clutching his knees, she was not surprised to see James. She heard footsteps and quickly shut the door behind her.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment and then James said shakily, "You're bleeding."   
  
"I'm sorry," Lily whispered. "I didn't mean it, I didn't know." tears started to cloud her eyes.  
  
"I know you didn't," James turned his head. "It doesn't seem real. He can't be . . .be dead. He's my brother!"   
  
"Oh James!" Lily cried, and threw herself against the little boy, crying onto his shoulder.   
  
James wrapped his arms around his enemy and began to cry into her hair, suddenly not caring that he had hated her only a moment ago. They lay together like that for hours, not speaking, nor caring to, only crying onto each other, until Lily fell asleep.  
  
James lay stroking his hair. He was afraid and confused, but somehow, just having someone to be there with him, not talking nor trying to comfort him, made him feel a little better. He looked at her sleeping, the irritating little girl, who he fought with every day, and decided not to wake her.   
  
He woke hours later, not even remembering falling asleep. Lily was stirring in his arms, her face still pressed against his shoulder. James watched her for a few minutes, and then she suddenly awoke, surprised for a moment at her location.  
  
Instinctively, Lily pulled away, and James got a good view of her face. She had a deep cut down her cheek, which was smeared in dried blood, doubtless a remnant of him pushing her in the Dining Hall, he noticed that some of her blood had rubbed off on his robes, but James did not comment.  
  
Lily sat across from him, playing with a lock of her red hair. "I'm going to miss him James. He was a really great person."  
  
James nodded quietly, not trusting himself to speak.  
  
"I don't understand how he can just be gone," Lily whispered, and rubbed her aching cheek.  
  
Taking a deep breath, James tried to hold back tears. He had recovered somewhat and was reluctant to cry again in front of Lily. He watched her lay down on her back and gaze up at the ceiling.  
  
"You know this is a closet, don't you James?" Lily looked at him inquisitively.  
  
James laughed unexpectedly, and then instantly felt guilty, as if by laughing he had somehow reduced his brother. "I didn't want anyone to find me."  
  
He found it much easier to look at Lily, and watch her eyes wander around the room, than to think about his brother. Instead he filled his head with thoughts of her green cat-like eyes and red curls. Lily examined the walls and ceiling very carefully, stopping when she spotted the wall clock.  
  
"It's almost ten o'clock," she stated plainly.  
  
"AM?" James asked, confused, "It seems like we've been in here longer than that."  
  
"It could be ten at night," Lily sounded doubtful. "That would mean we missed all of our classes and I'm sure people are wondering where we are."  
  
James eyes narrowed, he suddenly thought about what his friends would say if Lily told them she had seen him cry. "Don't tell anyone you were here with me or I'll make your life miserable!" He warned her, his tone changing drastically.  
  
"You already do James, that's an empty threat," Lily rolled her eyes. "But don't worry, I'm not going to tell people I spent the day in a closet with you!"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" James almost shouted.  
  
"It means that I'm leaving!" Lily shouted. She stood quickly and threw open the door, stepping into the hall without another look at James, and scaring the crap out of some sixth years who were standing near the entrance from the closet.  
  
Lily ran up to the Gryffindor Common room, and judging by the dark scene that met her when she looked out a window, determined that it was indeed ten at night. She had spent over 12 hours in a closet with her worst enemy.  
  
When she reached her dorm, she looked forward to with Dora and Brittany, about John, but was met by blank and curious stares when she entered her room.  
  
"Are Brittany and Dora here?" she asked Elisabeth Ester.   
  
Elisabeth shot her friend a knowing look and shook her head. "I don't know where they went," she said coldly.  
  
Lily gave an exasperated sigh and went immediately to the first year boy's dorm, opening the door without hesitation.   
  
She found Brittany sitting cross legged on the floor, and Dora sprawled out on the bed opposite of Remus's. Peter was in his own bed as well, but the rest of the boys seemed to have cleared out.  
  
"Lily!" Brittany shouted and jumped up. "Your face! Are you okay?"  
  
Lily winced and touched her face in embarrassment. Brittany threw an arm around her friend.  
  
"I almost forgot about that. Yeah, I'm fine." Lily sighed and crawled into the nearest empty bed. "I think I'll just lie here a while," she yawned.  
  
"So, how's James doing?" Sirius asked her with his concern obvious in his voice.  
  
"I wouldn't know!" Lily replied quickly. "I was off by myself. I wasn't with him!" she added defensively.  
  
The others looked at her strangely and Brittany started laughing, before pressing her hand over her mouth and apologizing.  
  
"You don't have to lie Lily. Geez! We're your friends," Brittany sounded annoyed.  
  
Lily blushed but maintained her innocence. "I wasn't with him!"  
  
Remus and Brittany shot each other a glance, and Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
Choosing the worst moment possible, James flung open the door and stopped mid-step, staring around at all the three girls in his dorm.  
  
Sirius immediately stood and walked over to his friend, placing an arm around his shoulder and ushering him over to his bed.  
  
"What are you doing here?" James addressed Lily icily, "Get out of my bed!"  
  
Hastily, Lily removed herself from the warm covers. "I am sorry James! If I knew it was your bed I wouldn't have been in it!" She glared and retreated from his stare. "Let's go girls! I can see we're not wanted here."  
  
Brittany glanced at the smear of dried blood on James's neck and the dark red blotches on his robes and then looked at Lily's bloody cheek. She couldn't understand why Lily was lying to her, but in light of the tragic element to the day she maturely let it go. Brittany was sure she was not the only one who noticed it, she had seen the way the other's had reacted when James walked in covered in Lily's blood. It didn't take a genius to make the connection.  
  
Back in the girls dorm, Lily and her friends sadly reminisced about John, and the little they had known him. Lily produced the book of pranks that John had sent her and sadly leafed through the pages. She just couldn't believe that he was really gone.  
  
Eventually, Lily washed the blood off of her face, and let Dora bandage her wound, ignoring her friends' suggestion that she see Madame Klase.  
  
Lily lay in bed awake for a long time, crying softly into her pillow. Just before drifting off to sleep Lily had a fleeting thought about James, and wondered if he was okay.

* * *

The next day, Dora and Brittany had to drag Lily out of bed. The moaning red head protested and kicked and the two girls still would not desist.   
  
"Come on Lily! You have to come to your classes today! You can't just sit around like a slob forever!" Dora begged her.  
  
Lily opened one eye and squinted at her friend. "But I don't wanna! I'm tired and my face hurts."  
  
"Oh my god! It's so swollen! You've got to go see Madame Klase!" Brittany gasped as Lily rolled over, revealing her injured cheek.  
  
Lily moaned again and attempted to bury her face in her pillow, but her friends dragged her out of bed. Reluctantly, Lily dressed in a clean set of robes, not bothering to shower or even wash her face and let her friends drag her to the hospital wing.  
  
Inside was a third year girl who looked at her knowingly and said "James," in a sad tone.  
  
"Huh?" Lily asked, confused.   
  
"I saw him push you after he found out about his brother." The girl sighed and flipped her hair. "It's a real shame."  
  
Lily sighed, a bit annoyed at the girl for butting into her business.  
  
"He still shouldn't have attacked you like that. Even if he is just a little first year, he should know, not to hit girls."  
  
"It wasn't his fault," Lily defended him, sending the girl a death glare.  
  
Just then, Madame Klase bustled in, cutting through the tension easily. "Oh my dear!" she gushed, looking at Lily. "You poor dear, why didn't you come to see me sooner?"  
  
Fortunately, Lily was released fairly quickly from Madame Klase's care. After a little swelling potion and pain cream, she was allowed to go. It was one of her shortest trips to the hospital wing in her history at Hogwarts. And now that she thought about it, it was caused by James, just like every other time she had been injured that year. The boy was a walking disaster.  
  
Disappointment enveloped Lily as she hurried to the Dining Hall, only to find that breakfast was over. She hadn't eaten for ages, and had been really looking forward to getting some food inside her.

* * *

Lily, who always loved all of her classes, found herself very distracted through out the day. Somehow, John's face kept popping into her mind. Luckily, most of her teachers understood this, and tried to be very considerate to the mourning students.  
  
Sirius and Remus seemed to have been hit very hard as well. The two of them were in classes again, although James was still absent. It seemed that that the three of them had been very close to John and his death had really hurt them.

* * *

The day went fairly smoothly, circumstances permitting, until Potions, the last class of the day.  
  
Since Lily was without a partner, Ludwick assigned her to work with Malfoy and Terrance. Lily was complacent, but sad. Her friends were surprised at the submissive way she went over and sat with the two Slytherins, not even complaining nor looking outraged.  
  
After the Ludwick finished talking, and the students began their work, Malfoy leaned over and touched Lily's cheek. "Nice injury mudblood," he hissed. "I saw your little spat with your loverboy."  
  
Lily flinched when he touched her, but didn't react, except to glare at the table. She was not in the mood to argue with them.  
  
Terrance laughed with his friend. "Not even going to defend yourself? Well I say that Potter's death was an immense improvement if it shuts you up this well. That muggle-lover got what was coming to him!"  
  
At this, Lily broke out of her stupor and smartly slapped Terrance across the face.  
  
Ludwick was there in an instant. "Is there a problem miss Evans?" he asked coldly, an amused smile playing on his face. "Ah, the troubles and drama that surrounds a Gryffindor," he mocked.  
  
Jumping out of her chair, Lily sprinted out the door without giving the cruel teacher another glance. She didn't care what the others thought, she didn't care if he gave her a detention or failed her for that matter. She just knew that she had to get away, as far away as she could from Terrance's greasy smile, and Lucius's cutting remarks.   
  
Lily collapsed in her bed and cried until the tears would no longer come. Then she went to the bathroom, and showered, removing all traces of her grief, emerging fresh in time for dinner with Brittany and Dora.

* * *

Lily gulped down as much food as she could as Brittany, Dora and three of the Marauders watched in awe. The room cleared out, and Lily was still going. Finally her friends left her as well, promising to meet her in the common room, and she was left alone.   
  
At last, Lily filled herself to her maximum level of possible digestion, and was about to leave, when she remembered James. She knew he hadn't eaten for quite some time, and she wondered if he was as starving as she had been before her gluttony.  
  
On a whim Lily salvaged a piece of chocolate cake, wrapped it in a napkin as neatly as she could, and set it gently inside her book bag.

* * *

Lily met Brittany and Dora in the common room, where they sat around the fire. Dora leaned on Lily and put her head on her shoulder. "I'm so tired Lily, tired of all of this. I just want to have some fun again. I want everything to be like it was before," she confessed.  
  
"I know. I suppose it will just take time," Lily said wisely.  
  
Brittany stood, angered, "Things will never be the same Lily! No matter how much time goes by. John will never come back!"  
  
Brittany ran upstairs, and Lily and Dora sat together silently for a while, before Dora yawned. "I'm going to bed Lils," she said gently. "Don't stay up too late."  
  
Lily sat staring into the fire for a long time before she went up the stairs toward her dorm. She turned left however, and instead of going into her dorm, knocked softly at the first year boy's room. Sirius opened the door and motioned for her to come in without a word.  
  
Lily ignored the boy's questioning looks and went over to James's bed, where he lay silently, a lump under his comforter. Lily rummaged through her bad and withdrew the napkin covered lump, slightly squished from her books and set it softly beside his pillow, hoping he would not roll over and squash it.  
  
"What did you give him?" Remus asked as she left.   
  
Lily shrugged and went to her dorm without a word. 


	15. Book 1 Chapter 15

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 15- Flowers and Beards**

* * *

James woke up suddenly, his stomach cramping. He ignored it and turned over on his side. The pain in his stomach was only partly due to hunger. Missing his brother had left a hole, which seemed to take over his entire body.   
  
Sitting up restlessly, he noticed that everyone else in his dorm was still asleep. Sirius's bed was empty however. James sighed, and was about to lie back down when he noticed a strangely shaped package about to fall off of his bed. James darted his hand out and grabbed it just in time, wondering at the soft squishy feel beneath his fingers.  
  
Curiously, James unwrapped the napkin to reveal a piece of thick chocolate cake. James wrinkled up his forehead, perhaps Sirius or one of the others had brought it up for him. He ate it slowly, savoring the sweet stickiness as an easy and temporary escape. When it was gone he sighed and lay back down, the overwhelming emptiness returning swiftly. Just before he fell back asleep, James reminded himself to ask Sirius about the cake in the morning.

* * *

"Lily! Lily!" Get up quick!" Brittany shook her friend awake. "You've got to come see this!"  
  
It took effort, but Lily roused herself from bed. "What in god's name is it Brittany? You sound like you've been hit with an overdose of a cheering charm!"  
  
Professor Flitwick had tactfully decided to introduce the class to cheering charms the previous afternoon. Some students had laid them on a bit strong.  
  
"Oh Lily, it's wonderful, you have to come and see. Hurry! No time to get dressed!" Brittany insisted, not the least discouraged by Lily's morning grumpiness.  
  
"Where's Dora? Where are all the others?" Lily asked as she noticed the room was empty besides the two of them.  
  
"They are already out there. You have to see it Lily! It's beautiful!  
  
Allowing her friends to drag her groggy self down stairs and to the door that led out onto the Hogwarts grounds, Lily grumbled and complained adamantly.  
  
All of her complaining stopped abruptly the second she walked out the door. Lily's breath caught in her throat and every miserable thought left her head as she paused in the doorway.  
  
It had been raining the entire winter, but today the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was out, casting light directly on the lake.  
  
All around the ground were yellow flowers, so thick that it was not possible to walk without wading through them. Students were frolicking and dancing in the fields of yellow. But the breathtaking thing, the thing that overshadowed all the rest of the beauty of the moment was not the sudden eternity of flowers, but what lay in the lake.  
  
Reflected across the lake was a smiling reflection of the famous John Potter, larger than life, and illuminated by the sun. It was so beautiful and so perfect that Lily shed a tear for joy. John was gone, but he would never truly fade.   
  
"Isn't it amazing," Brittany whispered.  
  
Lily nodded, in rapture, tears flowing swiftly down her cheeks. "It's perfect."  
  
Brittany joined Dora who was lying in the flowers, taking in the rich aroma, but Lily wandered off to the wade in the lake, staying near the borders, as she did not want to disturb John's image. She touched upon it lightly, running her fingers over the surface.  
  
"It's a miracle," she whispered.  
  
"Isn't it?" Sirius responded in her ear, causing Lily to jump about a foot in the air, and fall on her but in the Lake.   
  
"You!" Lily accused happily. "You did this!"  
  
Sirius took a bow. "Yes, it was I. Sirius Black, the living miracle maker."  
  
He then flinched expecting Lily to slap him or do something rash as was her habit. But Lily only smiled and did something unexpected. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Sirius."  
  
Sirius smiled at Lily in a new way, and dashed off to enjoy the moment.  
  
Lily waded in the lake a while longer and then happily collapsed in the flowers, lying still with her eyes closed, taking in the floral aroma and bathing in the tranquility of the moment.   
  
Someone tapped her shoulder a minute later. Lily opened her eyes and saw Remus.  
  
"Lily," he said with a smile, "Look."  
  
Remus motioned over to the entrance of the school and saw nothing. She was about to turn to ask him what he meant, when the door swung open and James stood on the steps, staring about with the wide eyes of an eleven year old.  
  
Lily rose from her bed of flowers and watched him diligently as his mouth dropped and then amazingly, he smiled.  
  
Soon another face exited the building, and Dumbledore stood beside James, with his arm around his shoulders. The two were smiling and Lily saw a tear glistening in the old man's eye.  
  
Lily sprang up from the flowers and skipped over to James, forgetting their differences. Dumbledore gave her a knowing look as she joined them on the steps.  
  
Reaching out gently, she took James's hand and led him to the lake. Lily stood back as he reached the sparkling water, and watched as he tentatively reached out a single finger and touched the water. Lily was not sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed to her that in the reflection, John's smile grew wider.  
  
Sirius's tribute exceeded any magic Lily had experienced at Hogwarts. For once, the troublesome first year had managed to use his talent for something worthwhile.  
  
By nightfall, all the flowers had disappeared, and the lake reflected nothing but the night stars, but the magic of the day remained vivid in many hearts.  
  
Sirius Black, the biggest prankster in all of Hogwarts, (besides perhaps James), had succeeded in healing the school. In the days to come, people began to accept John's death, and learned to move on in their lives.  
  
James too, seemed to be much better. He attended classes again, and though he underwent periods of sadness and regret, he learned to laugh once more, without feeling guilty.  
  
The school had mourned John Potter, and they had celebrated his life. Finally they had learned to live their own lives, and to continue to laugh. Sirius had done all this.

* * *

By the next week, Lily and James were back to fighting like cats and dogs, and Sirius was back to being his annoying self. Dora was back to messing up charms, and Peter was back to being the pitied one.  
  
It turned out that life went on for the students at Hogwarts, as life has a tendency to do.

* * *

"Today it is time for me to talk about something which may be frightening to some of you. It is not a pleasant subject, and many of your parents will object to this lesson, but I feel it is something that needs to be told. If any of you feel uncomfortable, you are free to leave," Professor Lacy spoke solemnly, during one Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.  
  
Lily glanced nervously and Dora, who was her lab partner in the class. Dora smiled at her friend, looking even more nervous than Lily.  
  
"It's time to talk about Voldemort," Lacy said softly, glancing with compassion at James.  
  
Lily, who sat in the front fought back the urge to look at him, so she did not see the way James failed to flinch when the name was uttered. She did not see the way he sat back straight and tall in his chair (well as tall as a 5 foot eleven year old could be).   
  
Professor Lacy sat down at her desk and took a deep breath. "As all of you doubtless know, Voldemort has recently been found responsible for several killings. It seems that his number of followers and his number of victims have both been rising at an alarming pace. I feel that it is very important that you are taught how to deal with an encounter."  
  
Lacy paused, taking in the mood of the room. "You have all learned basic hex blocking techniques as well as counter curses to some of the more common and simple curses. None of this will help you a bit if you come face to face with a wizard like Voldemort. This is a wizard who deals in the Unforgivable curses, the curses that cannot be blocked or evaded. This is a wizard who would not hesitate to kill any one of you. Nothing that you have learned so far will be enough to save you, if you end up in a situation where you are placed at the mercy of a wizard like Voldemort."  
  
Lily bit her lip. Her urge to turn and look at James was growing, but she knew that it would not be right to turn around. If only she had sat in the back.  
  
"The one thing that can save you," Lacy continued, "is your use of common sense. First of all, I will be teaching you to avoid putting yourself in a dangerous situation. Second I will be teaching you how to get out of a dangerous situation, when all odds are against you. Third, I will tell you what to do if you ever stumble upon a dangerous scene, such as arriving home to find the Dark Mark looming over your house."  
  
The lesson was one of the most captivating that any of the students had experienced all year, and there was no magic involved. Everyone listened avidly, and there were no disruptions or complaints. In light of recent events, everyone found that the lesson was relevant.  
  
When class was dismissed, Professor Lacy requested James stay after class for a moment, and Lily gave in to her urge to look at him. She was impressed by the strong way he handled it. He looked determined, more than anything, and for an instant Lily was afraid. James had listened to all that Professor Lacy had said, but somehow Lily wondered if the chance came for James to meet Voldemort, if he would truly do the safe thing and remove himself from the situation, or whether he would seek some sort of retribution.  
  
The thought passed as soon as it came and Lily went off to lunch, giggling with her friends.

* * *

One afternoon in Charms class James offered Lily a piece of gum. Lily accepted, a sign of how far she had let her guard down since Sirius's tribute.  
  
A few moments later, Lily noticed some of her classmates giggling, but she ignored them, more intent on perfecting her shrinking charm. She found it extremely useful, as it allowed one to shrink down any item, such as luggage that was too heavy to carry. Lily managed to shrink a large vase into one smaller than her fingernail, which was better than most of the other students.  
  
"Uh, Lily," Brittany tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Brittany! I'm trying to concentrate. I almost have it perfect," Lily cut her friend off.  
  
"Fine, whatever!" Brittany giggled.  
  
Soon the twittering progressed into full scale hysterics and poor Lily couldn't help but take notice.  
  
"What is it?" she asked Brittany frantically, blushing from head to toe.  
  
Brittany smiled and shook her head, withdrawing a pocket mirror from her purse and handing it to her friend with a slightly evil laugh.  
  
Lily held the mirror up to her face slowly, and promptly screamed and ran out of the classroom in humiliation. She had sprouted a full mustache and sideburns, as well as a great deal of nose hair, and her beard was coming in nicely. To top it off, all of her newfound facial hair was a bright red. Lily was horrified and angry. She was almost to embarrassed to see Madame Klase.   
  
Madame Klase laughed when Lily entered the hospital wing. "James again? Or Sirius?"   
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "James. He is going to die!"  
  
"Oh, don't be to tough on the boy deary. When I was your age there was a boy who tortured me like that. His name was Zachary," Madame Klase reminisced pleasantly. "In fact he did this very thing to me once. He gave me a potion which made me grow a beard. I was very angry!"  
  
"Did you hate him?" Lily asked hopefully.  
  
"Of course. I couldn't stand him, until about seventh year. Things started to change," the nurse sighed.  
  
"I hate boys!" Lily sighed angrily, an interesting combination.  
  
"Oh you won't forever. Wait until you meet that somebody special, then everything will change," the plump nurse assured her. "Men aren't really so bad, though they do have their faults."  
  
Lily looked at Madame Klase curiously. "Are you married?"  
  
Madame Klase laughed. "Yes Deary."  
  
"What's your husband's name?" Lily asked nosily.  
  
The older witch sighed. "Zachary Klase deary."  
  
Lily was silent after that. She could not understand why any woman would marry someone who tricked her into growing facial hair. Lily decided that Madame Klase was a little weird.

* * *

Beardless and none the worse for the wear, Lily returned from the hospital wing in time for dinner. She was happy for the opportunity to dump a glass of cider into James's messy hair. "I hate you James!" she shouted passionately as ever, before sitting down comfortably between Brittany and Dora.   
  
Her feud with James was becoming a comfortable tradition, and strangely enough, Lily almost enjoyed it despite herself. Well, at least she enjoyed being the one to dump cider in James's hair.

* * *

With March, came better weather, and students began to wander outdoors once more. The lake had become James's favorite hangout, and Lily spent as much time as possible avoiding that area.  
  
Yet she could not help but stop by for a laugh when James and Sirius had preformed another "miracle" and managed to somehow levitate Severus above the lake, dressed as a mermaid, complete with a fake tail and a seashell bra.  
  
The two were assigned detentions from Dumbledore, whom arrived on the scene to sigh sadly and comment that the two boys could change the world if they applied their talents to something other than humiliating other students and wreaking havoc.  
  
"Where would be the fun in that?" Sirius laughed.  
  
The two ended up polishing doorknobs.  
  
"I think that Dumbledore's running out of creative detention ideas," James reflected cheerfully one morning, after receiving his detention notice. "I'm still beating you Sirius. I have seven detentions and you only have six. I'm going to win."  
  
Sirius laughed maniacally. "Oh, you are terribly mistaken if you think you have a shot. The competition is on! I have been letting you off easy, but now it's time to kick it into gear!"  
  
"You guys are insane!" Remus chided. "I'll stick to not having to polish doorknobs for the rest of my Hogwarts career, thank you very much."  
  
"Aren't you afraid you are going to get expelled?" Peter interrupted, sounding nervous, as always.  
  
None of them noticed the wizened old wizard standing watching them from the teacher's table. None of them saw him smile, remembering his own youth. Dumbledore watched the four marauders with a twinkle in his eye, amazed as always at the resiliency and innocence of youth. 


	16. Book 1 Chapter 16

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 16- Secrets and Threats**

* * *

One day during a particularly boring History of Magic lesson, Professor Bin's droning was cut short when a knock at the door interrupted the lesson.  
  
Professor Bins, the oldest and most boring of all Lily's teachers, made his way to the back of the classroom at a leisurely pace and opened the door slowly.   
  
After a moment, the teacher turned and with an agonizingly slow tone announced that there was a man to see James Potter.   
  
At this announcement, many students gasped, wondering if yet another tragedy had struck the Potters and Lily felt her insides run cold. James stood up bravely and walked towards the back of the classroom with his shoulders held high.   
  
"Do you think. . ." Brittany trailed off, "I hope it's nothing else bad."  
  
Lily said nothing and bit her lip, hoping that James wasn't in for more disappointment. Life was much less fun without her least favorite Marauder to argue with.

* * *

James stood quietly, not trusting himself to speak as he greeted his brother's best friend. He had recognized Ryan at once, as the older boy, and Quidditch player had frequented James's house ever since he could remember.  
  
"Hey James. It's nice to see you again, but in these circumstances. . . Are you doing all right?" Ryan asked with concern.  
  
James nodded and averted eye contact with John's best friend. "I'm ok."   
  
Ryan ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "It's tough, but I'm glad you're surviving it. We all miss him," he said quietly.  
  
"I guess you'll just have to try harder to win that world championship," James tried to make light. "Britain's got to win. You can still pull through. John would have wanted it."  
  
Ryan cleared his throat. "Yeah. I guess he would have. James I came here because, well, John left this behind and I know he would have wanted you to have it. He really cared about you James, he would have want you to be happy."  
  
The Quidditch player thrust a brown package into James's arms. James caught it easily, surprised by the lightness of the bulky package.  
  
"Don't open it until you are alone. You won't want everyone to see it," Ryan explained, his voice cracking and his eyes tearing up. "I want you to go and use it well. Get in lots of mischief and have fun with it, like your brother did. He would have wanted it"   
  
James nodded, lost for words, and pulled the package close to himself, as if holding onto some part of his brother. "Thank you," he finally mumbled, and hurried back into the classroom to escape the pain of seeing Ryan, who reminded him so very much of John.

* * *

When Lily saw James return, he looked shaken but not shaken enough to indicate further disaster. She noticed that he had a package with him, but she did not choose to inquire. He sat down next to Sirius and she saw Sirius touch his wrist as if to inquire about his friends state. James smiled weakly and turned to face Professor Bins, pretending to be captivated by the boring old wizard's lecture on the goblin revolutions.  
  
At one point, when Lily was trying her hardest not to nod off Sirius suddenly jumped atop a desk and animatedly began to swing about a rolled up newspaper as if it were a sword.  
  
The entire class erupted in giggles and groans, and Sirius continued his strange charade. "Back fiends!" Sirius called to an invisible foe, jumping across to the next desk and waving his makeshift sword in Remus's face.  
  
"Mr. Black!" Professor Bin's face looked as placid as ever. "Would you kindly cease your unusual display and allow me to continue with my lesson.  
  
Sirius looked at Bins strangely, as if the old man had just announced his plans to quit the teaching business and become a male model. "Why, my dear old Professor, I am just reenacting the battle! I thought a little visual display might spruce up your lecture."  
  
"I believe my lecture is adequate without any help from a young scallywag like your self. Now please, salvage some dignity and take a seat Mister Black!" Bins looked slightly irritated.  
  
Sirius stood and took a bow. "Well dignity is my middle name after all. Sirius Dignity Black, so I suppose I will take a seat if I must, but to tell you the truth, I find my reenactment much more stimulating."  
  
Then, James reached out and pulled on Sirius's cloak, causing the arrogant little boy to topple backwards into his seat. The class twittered with laughter again, but Sirius remained nonplussed. He only smiled, bowed his head and spoke again, "You see, dignity is my middle name."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Stupid Marauders," she said condescendingly to Dora, who was slumped in her seat, trying to hide her giggling. It was true that Sirius was always good for a laugh.

* * *

That night Lily lay awake, for some reason unable to sleep. She wasn't thinking of anything in particular, just mulling over events of the past year. It was strange being away from her family for so long. Lily missed her parents, but she loved Hogwarts. Still, Lily did not look forward to the summer, and seeing Petunia.  
  
Lily sighed, remembering a day when her sister and her had been close. They hadn't really hated each other, until Lily was about five. She couldn't understand what it was that had changed their relationship so. Petunia was six whole years older than her sister, and Lily couldn't understand her a bit.  
  
After much deliberation, Lily decided that lying in bed awake all night wasn't going to do her any good. She decided, against her better judgment, to go down to the common room and read. She had a book that she had been meaning to get to for ages, and hadn't had a decent chance for quite a while.  
  
It was well past three when Lily heard whispers coming from the stairs. Lily slumped down in her chair, doubting that anyone would be able to see her if they were just passing through.   
  
"Hey, Sirius! You're stepping on my foot. Scoot over to the left!" James's voice was clearly evident.  
  
"Oh you mean like this?" Sirius whispered back, his voice muffled, as if coming from under a cloak.  
  
"AHH" James cried out, and then hushed. "Wrong way you idiot!"  
  
"James, do be quiet, you're going to wake the whole tower," came a third voice, belonging to one Remus Lupin.  
  
"Guys, I really don't think it was a good idea to try and fit all three of us under one cloak," Peter whispered nervously.  
  
Lily wrinkled up her forehead in confusion. Why would the four Marauders be creeping through the common room in the middle of the night, sharing a cloak? She knew they were weird, but she couldn't see why they would be eager to cram under one cloak. Perhaps it was part of some prank they were playing.  
  
She heard them whispering conspiratorially, as they opened the portrait hole. Lily almost ignored them, but at the last moment she decided to go after them, she had no intention of allowing the Marauders to lose Gryffindor any more points than they already had. Setting a record number of detentions was one thing, denying Gryffindor of the house cup was another.   
  
Lily hurried and threw open the portrait door, ready to tell them off in the strongest words possible, but when she left the common room, she was surprised to find that the boys were no where in sight. She knew that she was right behind them, so there was no way they could have gone out of her sight.   
  
Giggling broke out from her left and Lily turned her head, looking for the four Marauders, but there was no one in sight.   
  
She heard a muffled, "it works!", followed by a shushing sound.   
  
Annoyed, Lily turned to go back into the common room, she had no intention of chasing the boys around the castle, but she noticed the portrait hole had been closed, and the fat lady was not at her post.  
  
Uncharacteristically, Lily swore, and wandered off down the hall in the direction that she assumed the boys had gone.  
  
At one point, Lily thought she heard some footsteps from behind her, but nobody was to be seen. Finally, Lily decided to go to the library. If she was to be locked out of her common room, she might as well be reading.  
  
After picking out a good book, Lily settled on a couch, partially concealed from sight by three tall bookcases. Lily knew that she might as well take no chances of being caught, she could never live it down if she were the one to be caught creeping about after hours, when all she had been trying to do was to stop James and the others from getting Gryffindor in trouble.  
  
Eventually, sleep found Lily, and she drifted off in her chair, only to be awoken a few minutes later by the sound of voices.  
  
Lily almost jumped out of her seat, assuming she had found the mischievous Marauders, but then she peeked behind the bookcase and saw that the boys talking were much taller than they boys she was after, she recognized one of them as Barty Crouch, the Slytherin Quidditch captain which she had eavesdropped on earlier in the year.  
  
"Oh no!" Lily whispered and sunk down lower in her chair, wishing to disappear.  
  
"So you decided to join us?" Barty asked. "Wise decision. You can come to the next meeting. You will be initiated immediately."  
  
The other boy laughed. "I heard how well your initiation went."  
  
"Yes, indeed. I do think that I chose a spectacular target, although I still think that Longbottom would have better suited the purpose." Barty's voice went from cheerful to vindictive at the mention of the popular Gryffindor's name.  
  
"Yes well, he really is not that great a threat to our lord," the other boy said softly.  
  
Our lord? Lily was not sure what the boys were talking about, but she was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt that she ought to tell somebody about this. She was positive that these were the same two boys she had overheard earlier in the year, and the things they said seemed to make Lily feel very uncomfortable for a reason she could not pinpoint.  
  
"I suppose, but someday he will suffer at my hand. I promise you this," Barty laughed.  
  
"Hello boys," a sinister voice interrupted.  
  
Lily heard both boys audibly startle.  
  
Barty was the first to speak. "Oh, hello Theodore. How nice of you to join us. I presume you have the goods."  
  
"Yes," the new voice hissed. "It's all set up. I trust you will give it to the girl? It will activate precisely at noon on the first day of summer."  
  
"A bit early to set it up, don't you think Malfoy? We haven't even picked a target yet." Barty's companion asked in a reverent tone.  
  
"One can never be to early. The sooner we plant it, the less chance we will get caught. And call me Theodore by the way. All this Malfoy nonsense makes me feel like an old man," Theodore responded.  
  
Lily grimaced, realizing the third person was none other than Lucius Malfoy's father. If the man's cold tone was any indication, it was clear that father was not any kinder than son. Lily wished desperately that she was somewhere else, she had no desire to listen to these people any longer. She did not understand what they were talking about, but their voices made her skin crawl.  
  
"Well, it is almost morning Theodore, and it would be wisest if we get back to our dorms before dawn," Barty seemed eager to end the conversation.  
  
"Yes, well, I must be going. In the morning I have a visit planned with the headmaster, the old fool. That is my pretense for being here. But yes, I agree, you must depart. It would not be good at all if we were seen conversing here. Good night Bartholomew, Devin. Until the next meeting."  
  
The other boys muttered their goodbyes, and Lily held her breath until she was sure they were all gone. Then she gathered her wits and sprinted back up to the Gryffindor Common room.

* * *

Throughout the next few days, Lily debated whether to tell Dumbledore about the conversation she had heard. There was nothing in it that was explicitly incriminating, but the whole thing gave her a bad feeling and something urged her to get it off her chest.  
  
But Lily knew that if she told Dumbledore the story, she would have to tell about her being out of bed, and she would have to tell about the previous conversation she had overhead, while also out of bed after hours. She knew that such a confession could have disastrous results.  
  
In the end, Lily decided not even to tell her friends. She also considered confronting the Marauders about their late night exploits, but decided against it, as she was sure it would also incriminate her in her after hours traveling.  
  
All in all, Lily was fairly preoccupied throughout the following week.   
  
It was a welcome distraction when at breakfast one morning, several members of the Slytherin Table suddenly began spouting milk from their noses.   
  
"I got the idea from Dora's messed up charm!" Sirius guffawed loudly.  
  
However, it turned out that the charm was a bit general, and not only inflicted Terrance and Malfoy, but also ended up affecting most of the Slytherin house, including some of the bigger and more formidable of the bunch.  
  
After Lucius had pointed out the culprits, two hulking seventh years, including the boy Devin, whom Lily had overheard talking with Barty in the library, approached the four Marauders, who were not intimidated in the least.  
  
"Which one of you did this?" he asked, trying to look threatening, but not succeeding. It is a difficult thing for a person to look threatening, no matter how big they may be, when the person has a steady stream of milk pouring from their nasal cavity.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you," Sirius asked casually, "not to snort milk out your nose. It's terrible manners you know."  
  
"And it does make you look like a stupid oaf, not that you aren't one already!" James chimed in.  
  
The big Slytherin gazed back and forth at the boys, as if trying to choose which one to hit first. Finally his gaze fell to James, who was the smaller of the two. Devin reached forward and lifted James up by his shirt collar, delivering a terrific blow to the eleven year old's face.  
  
James shouted and his glasses snapped in two, as a fountain of blood began to pour out of the Marauder's own nose.  
  
By some instinct that she could not fathom, Lily stood up and pushed the big Slytherin as hard as she could, sending him sprawling, more out of surprise that anything. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" Lily screamed at him.  
  
"Go Lily!" Sirius cheered happily.  
  
Devin turned on her, getting a good glance at her face, looking quite comical with milk all over his shirt and looked as if he might hit her.  
  
Lily shrank back, but continued to glare menacingly, when Sirius, Remus and Peter began to pelt the Devin with various items from their plates.   
  
"Here's some eggs to wash down with your milk!" Sirius called as he hit the seventh year straight between the eyes with a hard boiled egg.  
  
Devin backed away, his face red with rage. "I'll get you for this!" he shifted his gaze through all the students, finally landing on Lily. Then he chuckled, "Yes, you'll be sorry you messed with Devin Goyle!"  
  
With that, the older boy marched off, his companions going along with him, leaving the Gryffindors in fits of laughter.  
  
Frank Longbottom came over to congratulate the Marauders. "Splendid prank boys! That was bloody brilliant. I'd never have had the guts to do that as a first year. You showed that git!"  
  
Even James joined in the celebration, his good mood returning despite his broken glasses and possibly broken nose. The good cheer spread throughout the hall, with the exception of the few remaining Slytherins, that is until everyone suddenly went silent as a daunting figure approached the Marauders.  
  
"Detention!" Filch called bitterly. "For creating a scene and a mess." The caretaker's gaze flickered over the Marauders. "The four of you will be cleaning up all traces of milk to be found in this school!"  
  
James groaned, but his good mood remained, despite the sorry state of his face, and his impending punishment.

* * *

Early the next morning, the four marauders joined their fellow Gryffindors for breakfast, in a dreary state. James's nose and glasses had both been repaired, but other than that they looked much worse for the wear.  
  
"Filch had us up all night! We had to clean everywhere! Even outside the Slytherin's dorm!" Peter whined.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "It couldn't possibly be as bad as the time James and I had to clean out the dungeons by hand.  
  
"It wasn't as bad, it was worse," James groaned miserably.  
  
"No way!" Lily upheld.  
  
"Yes way!" James defended, getting mad.  
  
"Yeah right! You are such a drama queen James," Lily sighed.  
  
"Drama queen? Look at you Miss Lily, who always has a problem with somebody! You're just jealous because you don't actually have a real life like me!" James countered, furious.  
  
"I do to have a life! You're so stupid James!" Lily was getting frustrated to the point of tears.  
  
The two continued their pointless grudge match while their friends watched in amusement.  
  
"I swear those two will fight over anything!" Dora commented astutely to Remus.  
  
"Look at them go. I'm not even sure what they're fighting about. Sometime we should lock the two of them in a room and just let them go at it until they have got all the arguing out of their systems and can finally get along," Brittany expanded.  
  
"That's a great idea but I bet it would take years before they got it out of their systems. The two of them have some serious issues to resolve," mused Sirius thoughtfully.  
  
"Thank you doctor Sirius!" Brittany laughed. "Just watch them. It's entertaining really."  
  
Lily was in the process of calling James every horrible name that she could think of, and James was retaliating by flinging his hash browns at her head.  
  
"I bet they wouldn't notice if we left," Peter said suddenly.  
  
"Are you joking, they wouldn't notice if I lit my hair on fire!" Brittany said.  
  
At this comment, Sirius began to get a strange gleam in his eyes and he suddenly withdrew his wand from his robe. "Are you willing to test that Brittany?"   
  
Brittany screamed and took off running down the hall, with Sirius close behind her.  
  
"James! You ignorant, self centered pig!" Lily continued without pause.  
  
"Looks like her hypothesis was correct," Remus commented to Dora and Peter, who smiled and continued to watch James and Lily's unfolding drama.


	17. Book 1 Chapter 17

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 17- Secret Admiration and Animagi**

* * *

Lily's old worries were brought to the surface when Remus disappeared one day. Teachers assured the students that he was just visiting a sick relative, but Lily had her doubts. It seemed to her that Remus disappeared all to often, and each time he returned covered in scratches.  
  
That evening, Lily and Dora were in the Library, as usual, when they saw three of the Marauders snooping about. Even Dora was suspicious. "What are they doing in here? They never study," she said.  
  
Determined to ignore them, Lily insisted that they finish their Herbology homework, and stop worrying about the whereabouts of idiots like James, Sirius and Peter.  
  
But when Sirius suddenly darted behind a bookshelf when the librarian approached and managed to knock over three fourth year girls and a huge pile of books in the process, the girls couldn't help but take notice.  
  
James hurried over and tried to help out his friend, while Peter tried to hide a large stack of books under his shirt.  
  
"Do you need any help?" Mister Bluff, the librarian asked.  
  
"No!" Sirius shouted a bit loudly. Everyone in the library who wasn't already watching the scene turned at his cry and watched Sirius humiliate himself further. "We're not looking for anything! Why would you think that? We just came for the chicks! Yeah that's it."  
  
James began to bang his head against a bookshelf in frustration.  
  
Sirius looked about guiltily and an idea dawned on him. He leaped up onto a table (as he was in the habit of doing) and turned to face the room. "LADIES!" He shouted, "HAVE NO FEAR, SIRIUS BLACK IS HERE!"  
  
"So much for being subtle," James muttered just loud enough for Lily to catch it.  
  
Suddenly there came a loud crash and all eyes turned to Peter, who had been attempting to smuggle out the books that he had crammed up his shirt, when he had ran straight into a chair and spilled his books, promptly tripping over them and knocking down and entire bookshelf.  
  
Mister Bluff, put his head in his hands and began to moan.  
  
"I know, I know, we'll escort ourselves out!" Sirius proclaimed, before taking a bow and sadly waving goodbye to the ladies, most of whom were in hysterics.  
  
"Not so fast!" Bluff demanded, grabbing Sirius by the arm. "You sir I am assigning a detention. You can help me minimize the damage you and your friends have done to my poor library."  
  
Dora, like the rest of the students present, had her head in her hands and was shaking with laughter. Lily however was seething.  
  
"I know they're up to something! Urrgh, they make me so mad sometimes! I wish they would just be normal. They're a disgrace to our house!" Lily fumed for about half an hour, before she finally was able to get back to her studies.

* * *

Lily thought no more about the incident in the library until later that night, when she came across three of the Marauders huddled in a corner of the common room and speaking in whispers.   
  
Being as stealthy as she could, Lily snuck up on them and popped up behind James's head. "Whatcha doin?" she blurted out and smiled as they all jumped three feet in the air.  
  
Sirius and Peter dove simultaneously on top of a book that they were looking at and the result was that they ran headlong into each other. James smiled so widely that if Lily's felt her suspicions were justified.  
  
"Why Lily! What are you doing here on this fine evening. I'm sure you have some studying or something to do, so you might as well get going. See you!" James waved vigorously as Peter and Sirius rubbed their foreheads miserably.  
  
Lily was not deterred that easily. She leaned over farther, despite James's attempts to block her.  
  
"Famous Animagi In History," Lily read off the cover of the book. "And Werewolves: Friend or Foe. What are you boys on about?"  
  
Sirius punched Peter in the arm lightly. "You were supposed to be guarding it!" he hissed.  
  
James only smiled even wider and threw an arm over Lily's shoulders.  
  
She tried to fight him off, but he ushered her away forcefully, his huge fake smile never leaving his face. "Fly away, little red head! Go do whatever it is red heads do!" he urged.  
  
Lily eyed him strangely. "Fine. Have fun reading your book. You took so much trouble to get it. You could have just went up and checked it out, but since you always have to do it the hard way, go right ahead!" She threw up her arms in frustration and went upstairs to join Brittany and Dora.

* * *

Remus returned from wherever he had gone, the next morning. Lily not surprised that his face and arms were covered in scratches and he had deep circles under his eyes. He smiled at Lily wearily when he saw her, looking exhausted beyond belief.  
  
For once Lily smiled back without insulting or mocking him. She wondered if perhaps he had a relative who abused him, but it just didn't seem to add up. Why did he keep leaving every month?  
  
Things got even weirder in Charms class. It seemed that the other Marauders were ignoring him. James, Sirius and even Peter kept whispering conspiratorially through the whole class until finally Professor Feldman had to reprimand them. Remus seemed to notice this too, and kept his head down, looking dejected.  
  
At lunch too, Lily noticed that the other Marauders did not wait for Remus, quickly eating and heading off somewhere alone, leaving him alone with the girls. Lily was slightly perturbed with the other boys and felt sorry for Remus, so she struck up a conversation about the other boys strange behavior the other day.  
  
"They created a huge disturbance at the library. They wanted some books I guess, but I don't know why they didn't just check them out!" she filled him in. "And then, I caught them in the common room reading! Since when do Sirius and James read? I didn't think they even knew how. And when I caught them, they panicked and tried to hide the books. I thought maybe they were reading up on prank spells, but the books were about Animagi and werewolves." Lily rolled her eyes and failed to notice how pale Remus had gone.  
  
"I've got to go!" Remus said abruptly and pushed his way out of the cafeteria leaving a very baffled Lily, Brittany and Dora in his wake.

* * *

That night Lily tried to catch the Marauders doing something strange again, but they seemed to be evading her. She wanted to go bed early, eager to catch up on sleep, and tired of dealing with her petty problems.  
  
Yawning, Lily pulled aside the curtains obscuring her four poster bed. Lily was glad she was a girl, the boy's dorms didn't have curtains. She discarded her comforter and something clattered to the floor. Lily started in surprise and then saw that it was a gift box with a card, wrapped in gold paper with a red bow on top.  
  
Jackie Lyda looked over at Lily and grinned. "Who's it from? It was here when I came up."  
  
Lily shrugged and took off the card.  
  
"_Dearest Lily,  
  
I have watched you from afar since the first time I saw you. You are as beautiful as an angel. I do not have the courage to tell you my name, but I do have the courage to give you this gift, as a token of my feelings for you.  
  
Love,   
  
Your Secret Admirer"  
_  
Lily read the letter slowly and felt a tinge of warmth creeping up her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was a secret admirer. Reluctantly, Lily unwrapped the present and found a small velvet box.   
  
"Uh-oh," Lily whispered, afraid of what she would find within.  
  
After steadying herself with a deep breath, Lily popped open the box, only to find a beautiful silver ring with a tiny red stone in the middle. She gasped, trying to hide the ring from view of Jackie, but failing as the nosy girl ran over and peer at it in admiration.  
  
Jackie grabbed the card and insisted on reading it aloud and sighing dramatically over it. "Oh Lily! You are so lucky! How come you are not more excited? I bet it's James," Jackie gushed.  
  
Lily made a face at this last suggestion. "Ew! I hope it's not James. If it was I'd probably have to kill him."  
  
This statement shocked Jackie, who admitted that she had a crush on James. Lily responded to this statement by pretending to vomit. But Lily finally agreed to wear the ring at Jackie's insistence.   
  
"Fine, I'll wear it, if it will make you leave me alone!" Lily had shouted, exasperated before sinking into her bed.  
  
She was woken up several hours later by Brittany and Dora who had seen the card and heard the story from Jackie and wanted to gossip and speculate about it with Lily herself.  
  
"Leemealone," Lily moaned. "I want some sleep. So what I got a present from some random person I don't even know. It's no big deal anyway."  
  
Brittany and Dora exchanged a glance. "Well you're wearing it aren't you!" Brittany cried.  
  
"For the last time, let me sleep or I'll annoy the hell out of you tomorrow!" Lily threatened and after about ten more attempted interrogations, Brittany and Dora finally gave up.

* * *

Lily swore her friends to secrecy the next morning before any of them left the dorm. She hid the card and the jewelry box deep inside her bag, but she did walk downstairs with the ring on her finger, at Jackie and Brittany's insistence.  
  
Jackie Lyda seemed to be taking a lot more interest in Lily, now that Lily had a romantic interest (if her secret admirer could be called that).  
  
Despite Lily's attempt to hush up the events of the previous night, when she arrived at breakfast, word had already gotten out.  
  
"So Lily," Sirius nudged her, "When's the engagement?"  
  
"Never!" Lily yelled. "I didn't even want the stupid thing!"  
  
James and Sirius laughed, but Remus only pointed out that she was wearing it after all. Lily then attempted to tear the ring off her finger and toss it across the room, but Jackie Lyda appeared from out of nowhere and tutted her tongue disapprovingly, sliding the ring back onto Lily's finger.  
  
"Is Jackie going to be your maid of honor Lily?" Sirius asked seriously.  
  
"It's not an engagement ring, and I don't even know the guy!" Lily screamed, flying into a rage easily.  
  
James smiled slyly and eyed the ring, and Lily braced herself for whatever he was going to say, but nothing came.  
  
Finally Lily burst out, "What is it James? Say what you are going to say and be done with it!"  
  
James swallowed and spoke quickly in a dry tone of voice, "I was only going to say, please pass the bacon Lily."  
  
Lily stared at him in astonishment. His lack of teasing astounded her. This was not normal James behavior.   
  
"Uh, the bacon please?" James asked again when the meat had failed to make it's way down the table.  
  
Dora smiled sweetly and passed the meat, when Lily failed again to react in what might be considered an appropriate manner. "You're so daft James!" Lily shouted, without knowing why, and then realized that she wanted some bacon as well.

* * *

If the Marauders had expected the Slytherins not to retaliate, they would have been very shocked one Sunday morning when they awoke to find something amiss. But being the troublesome Marauders they were, they had been anticipating revenge ever since their milk prank had gone off without a hitch.  
  
It seemed as if Devin's threat had been empty, because the revenge came compliments of Terrance and Lucius.   
  
So of course, the Marauders were not in the least worried when they woke up with bleached blond hair.  
  
"Rather juvenile," James commented dryly as he pointed his want and restored his hair easily. "Must be the work of first years."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Honestly James, I would have expected better than that. Restoro!" He pointed his wand and muttered the spell to restore his natural hair color.  
  
It turned out that the entire Gryffindor house, including Professor Lacy woke up with bleached blond hair. But no one, not even Lily was terribly upset over it.  
  
Even the least skilled of wizards knew how to restore hair color, and the ones who couldn't, like Dora, relied on their friends to fix it.  
  
Only Peter, chose to keep his hairstyle. "Not so fast guys!" He had protested, "I look good as a blond!"  
  
Lily was for once one of the first Gryffindors to enter the Dining hall, her red hair intact. She saw the Slytherin first years snickering to themselves. They looked a bit disappointed when they saw the girls without any remnants of blond hair.  
  
The pathetic prank was not even enough to send Lily into one of her rages. Instead she just laughed at them along with Brittany and Dora.  
  
Terrance and Malfoy looked terribly disappointed as the Gryffindors entered the Dining hall one by one, none of them looking much worse for the wear.  
  
When Peter entered with his obnoxiously blond hair-do, they had finally found their target. The two Slytherins strode over to the Marauders with smirks on their faces.  
  
"Well, well, well," Malfoy drawled. "What have we here? Oh look, it's the chubbiest Marauder, and look at his hair!" The two boys proceeded to squirm with laughter while the rest of the school looked on with distaste.  
  
"Why thank you Malfoy," Peter responded pleasantly. "I rather like it. I do think I look good as a blond."  
  
The other students nodded and smiled as Malfoy's smirk was wiped from his face.  
  
Then James stood, the image of cool, "That was a rather pathetic attempt at a prank, don't you think."  
  
The rest of the school began to shake their heads in agreement and mutter, "Pathetic".  
  
Sirius stood as well and shook his head sadly. "I really expected better from you than that. It was more amusing than anything. Gave me a laugh at least. I just hope you have learned a lesson from this. You really shouldn't mess with people who are out of your league."  
  
Sirius waggled his eyebrows at the two seething Slytherins, who attempted to mutter a comeback, but failed miserably and retreated very quickly over to the Slytherin table, where they were met with still more glares and ill will.  
  
With a dramatic sigh, Remus muttered, "Ah, when will they learn? They are just no match for the Marauders."  
  
For once, Lily had to agree.

* * *

Unfortunately for the Marauders, and the girls who happened to be lab partners with them, the two disgraced Slytherins made every attempt possible to get even during Potions.  
  
Malfoy walked by Lily and James's cauldron and casually dropped some sulfur powder inside, which with the present ingredients would soon result in the equivalent of a dung bomb. Luckily Lily acted quickly and added just the right amount of root of Angola Mushroom, which cancelled sulfurous effects. James breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god you're such a nerd Lily. You just saved our lives."  
  
Lily took offense, (when did she not?), but decided wisely not to act on it.  
  
Malfoy, meanwhile had attempted to hex Sirius's eyebrows off. Sirius fell target to the spell, with humorous results, but the Gryffindor flew into a rage and leaped atop Malfoy, forcing him to drink some of Sirius's laxative Potion, which the class had been brewing.  
  
Sirius's potion of course, was ridiculously strong, and immediately Malfoy clutched his stomach and began to moan, before dashing off to the lavaratory as quickly as possible.  
  
Ludwick, caught the fiasco however, and assigned Sirius a detention. As soon as Ludwick had delivered this news, which he himself thought would cause Sirius some misery, Sirius cheered wildly and dashed over to envelop James in a gigantic bear hug. "I'm beating you Jamsie! I've got one more detention than you!"  
  
"Black! That will be another detention for you obnoxious display!" Ludwick screeched, not understanding why Sirius was not showing suitable distress.  
  
With that, Sirius proceed to break into a happy dance, which caused the class to be affected with various degrees of mirth.  
  
Then, just to get even, James jumped up atop a desk and pointed his wand at Ludwick's face, muttering a spell which caused the teacher to sprout rabbit ears atop his head and his front to teeth to extend alarmingly.  
  
Not to be outdone by the other two, Remus stood and cast a spell to turn Ludwick's robes a brilliant pink.  
  
Sputtering mad, Ludwick assigned both boys a detention each, but the eyebrowless Sirius was parading around, the reigning king until Ludwick raised his wand and a loud boom echoed, which stunned the class into silence.  
  
"Enough!" Ludwick yelled, restoring himself instantly. "The next person to say a word will be expelled!"  
  
James climbed down from the table quickly and Sirius stopped dancing.  
  
"This is an outrage!" The Potions Master fumed. "I want a ten foot scroll on the properties of monkswood by tomorrow!"  
  
At this pronouncement, the entire class groaned, and the gazes of admiration directed at the Marauders turned to intense dislike. Lily slapped James across the face, and Brittany made a growling sound in the direction of Remus.  
  
"It's not fair!" Snape suddenly whined. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
Ludwick turned on him in an instant, and Severus shrunk back in fear. "A detention for you as well, for your cheek."

* * *

While Lily tried to dissuade Jackie from investigating Lily's secret admirer, James, Sirius and Remus were busy mowing the Quidditch field by hand, which was truly an arduous task to take on between the three of them.  
  
The three Marauders were debating whether or not to leave a message for the school on the Quidditch field.  
  
"I say we do it the last day of school. We could write Snape plus Malfoy equals love forever," Sirius envisioned.  
  
"But would it disrupt Quidditch?" James asked cautiously.  
  
"Nah! Quidditch season is over in May anyway. We can just wait until then," Remus reasoned. "It would be better if we did it then, rather than on the last day, because then the school would have a chance to see it."  
  
"Wait! The last Gryffindor Quidditch match is against Slytherin. Why don't we write it the night before the match! We could write something like Go Home Slytherin!"  
  
James beamed at his friend. "That would be great! But you don't think they'll cancel the match?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "No way! They don't actually play on the field so it would be fine!" he assured James.  
  
"So it's a plan?" Remus asked his friends.  
  
They all nodded happily. 


	18. Book 1 Chapter 18

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 18- Marvin Gaye and Best Men**

* * *

To Jackie's great disappointment, Lily did not receive any more gifts from her secret admirer. "Oh I'm sure he'll give you something tomorrow!" Jackie would predict dreamily.  
  
"Let's hope not!" was Lily's characteristic response.  
  
The days passed by, and then the weeks, and finally Jackie began to give up, much to Lily's relief. Jackie was a born romantic, and Lily was most definitely not. It was bad enough she had to wear the ring, but Lily couldn't bear the thought of any more fuss.

* * *

Now that spring had come, most students, including Brittany, Lily and Dora, spent as much time outdoors as possible. Lily was quite fond of playing freeze tag with many other students in her year. Jackie had taken to playing with the threesome and it became a popular pastime for many students.  
  
Occasionally Remus and Peter would take part, but James and Sirius spent every waking hour zooming about on their broomsticks, somehow managing to avoid being caught with their own brooms.  
  
After Sirius had served his second detention filing papers for Ludwick, he seemed more intent than ever to never leave his broomstick. He and James had invented a game, in which the two of them hit a bludger back and forth at each other.  
  
Both boys aspired to become beaters next year. While James had much better reflexes, and was faster and quicker than Sirius, Sirius could hit the bludger with such strength and force that the two were an even match.  
  
Though they got knocked off their brooms occasionally, neither boy suffered many major injuries from the game. Lily suspected it was only a matter of time before one or both of them would be killed or expelled.  
  
The girls frequently walked about the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying the weather and inventing games to play. Somehow the girl's games were slightly less deadly than those of the Marauders.  
  
One day, while the girls were seeing who could levitate a pebble above the lake the longest, they were approached by Gilderoy Lockhart, a handsome blond second year.  
  
"Well hello girls! I don't believe we've met. I'm Gilderoy Lockhart of course, I daresay you know my name," the boy blathered good naturedly, his wide smile never leaving his face.  
  
Brittany, Lily and Dora stared at a loss for words, either struck dumb by Gilderoy's beauty, or by his self righteous tone. Jackie however quickly extended a hand and introduced herself.  
  
"I'm Jackie Lyda, and these girls are Lily, Brittany and Dora. How nice to make your acquaintance Gilderoy."  
  
"Yes, yes it must be a real treat for the four of you. Have you heard about the time I invented wands? It was a great accomplishment for a young lad of nine," Gilderoy mused fondly.  
  
"Wands?" Lily asked skeptically, not sure whether she liked Gilderoy very much.  
  
"Oh yes, wands! Before I invented them wizards were running about using sticks. Shabby way to control your magic if I may say so. One day I said to myself, why do people use those horrid sticks? And that is when I invented them. Of course, it was a great deal of work and it could only have been accomplished by a genius like myself, but I do say it was worth it!" Gilderoy finished happily, running his fingers through his perfect hair for the twelfth time.  
  
"But wands have been around for ages! You couldn't possibly have invented them," Dora interrupted politely.  
  
"Oh Dora, don't be ridiculous! So tell me Gilderoy, were you at the Valentines feast?" Jackie asked cunningly, batting her lashes furiously.  
  
"Oh no, my dear girl!" Gilderoy looked disgusted. "I went to the ball, of course. Can you imagine, a strapping man like myself not being asked to the ball by an older student? Ha!"  
  
Lily giggled. "A strapping man? Are you sure you're not just a bit over zealous?  
  
For once Gilderoy stared blankly, obviously not comprehending the word. "Zealous? Yes of course, I have always been a very zealous fellow. Not to mention handsome, smart and all around fabulous!"  
  
Jackie sighed dreamily, Dora giggled, Brittany batted her eyelashes and Lily snorted.  
  
At the red-head's reaction to Gilderoy's declaration, the blond youth looked startled. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke, "I forgive you Miss Lily, despite your horrible display, because Gilderoy Lockhart is a forgiving fellow."   
  
Lily rolled her eyes and stood to leave her friends to watch the blond boy in admiration.

* * *

That night around the common room fire, Lily sat with Dora, watching Jackie and Brittany flirting madly with Gilderoy Lockhart. Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Dora with a grimace.   
  
"I just don't understand it," Lily complained, "it's like they go crazy every time they see a cute boy!"  
  
Dora nodded. "I would have expected this from Jackie, but not from Brittany. Well, you have to admit that he is kind of cute."  
  
Lily turned on her friend with a venomous glare. "So what? That doesn't make him some kind of god or something. All he is, is a self centered stupid boy!"   
  
Dora yawned and shrugged. "I guess. I'm really tired Lily, I'm going to bed."  
  
Lily sat by herself for several minutes before she grew bored and ventured over to the corner where the four marauders were doubtless plotting their next scheme.  
  
"Go away Lily," James said instantly, as she approached.  
  
Remus shot a glare at James and then turned to Lily. "Don't listen to him, you can stay. We were finished with that conversation anyway.  
  
"Do you guys know Gilderoy Lockhart?" Lily asked curiously, ignoring James.  
  
Sirius laughed, "Oh, you mean that big headed second year over there, stealing your friends?"  
  
Lily nodded, glaring in the blond boy's direction, "the very same."  
  
"Why aren't you under his spell Lily? It seems that every other girl is," James teased.  
  
Lily glared at James. "Because I hate him almost as much as I hate you!"  
  
Sirius laughed. "Do you want us to get him Lily? Gilderoy, I mean, not James. Perhaps we can come up with something which will make your friends forget about him," Sirius spoke excitedly.  
  
Lily's eyes lit up. "Could you? I mean the other day, he was telling us how he invented wands! And those two totally bought into it, can you believe it?"  
  
"Well they are girls after all," James interrupted snidely.  
  
"Shut up James!" Lily yelled a bit loudly.  
  
She blushed when most of the students in the common room turned toward her at this outburst. Most muttered something about stupid firsties and turned away.  
  
With a red face, Lily turned to Sirius and said in a very soft voice, "You will do something to him, won't you? Make it something humiliating, that will bring him back to earth."  
  
Sirius bowed mockingly and smiled, "Of course, my lady, Sirius Black and the Marauders at your service. Pranks are our specialty after all and we are always glad for the opportunity to pull one."  
  
Lily smiled at Sirius and Remus before turning to glare at James. "Good night you guys, I'm going to bed. And thank you in advance for pulling the prank for me."  
  
"We're glad you came to us Lily, instead of attempting something amateur yourself," Sirius called as Lily walked away.

* * *

The boys stayed up late, planning out the details for their latest plot.   
  
"I still don't see why we're helping Lily," James protested wearily.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Come on James, helping Lily is just an excuse. You can't tell me that Gilderoy guy doesn't make you want to barf. Think of it as helping mankind, not just Lily. Everyone will benefit by us teaching that git a lesson."  
  
"I agree," Remus chimed laconically. "But I'm tired. I say we go to bed and work on the details tomorrow."

* * *

James awoke in a place he had never seen before. He was surrounded by menacing figures, clad in robes. He recognized Barty Crouch and a few other of the older Slytherins. They had formed a ring. James inched closer, not able to see inside the ring.  
  
A girl's scream brought his attention to the center of the ring. James flinched and began to approach the circle cautiously.  
  
Strangely enough, the robed figures paid no attention to James as he crept along. Bravely, he pushed past them, and saw into the center of the sinister circle.  
  
Inside was one robed figure, his hood obscuring his face from view, he had a wand pointed at a girl lying on the ground. James realized that they could only be death eaters.  
  
"Lily!" James called in horror.   
  
She was covered in blood, and lying limply on the ground as the robed wizard laughed menacingly.   
  
"Lily, Lily!" James called out again.  
  
Suddenly something grabbed him, and shook him awake roughly.   
  
James opened his eyes, still calling out Lily's name and saw Sirius, Remus and Peter standing above him and laughing. James blinked groggily, and realized that he had been dreaming. He groaned, anticipating the teasing yet to come and buried his head in his pillow.  
  
"You all right there mate?" Remus asked with a laugh. "You were swinging your arms around and calling out for Lily."  
  
Sirius instantly fell into a swoon and began imitating the sleeping James, "Lily! Oh Lily my love!"  
  
James flushed red, "I did not say my love! I dreamed that some death eaters had got her, that's all."  
  
Peter giggled and joined in the taunting, "James and Lily sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, than comes babies in a baby carriage!"  
  
"Hey James, can I be the best man?" Sirius asked seriously.  
  
James was confused, "Huh?" he responded.  
  
"At your wedding. And can I sing? You've heard me sing before James, wouldn't it be lovely?" Sirius begged.  
  
James laughed at this, he had heard Sirius sing many times before, and the result was somewhat frightening. "I'll tell you what Sirius, if Lily and I ever get married, I'll let you be my best man, and you can sing. But that would never happen in a million years because we both hate each other, and dude, you can't sing."  
  
At this, Sirius pretended to be deeply offended and stalked off to his own bed.

* * *

The next morning Lily finally managed to hijack her friends away from Gilderoy, and persuade them to join her for breakfast.  
  
No sooner had they sat down than Sirius squeezed in between Lily and Brittany and flung his arm around the red head. "So Lily, last night James had a dream about you. I've decided that the two of you are going to get married someday. I'm going to be the best man at your wedding. I'll be singing as well of course. I'm thinking perhaps, from the eyes of a child, or Marvin Gaye, since it will probably be a muggle wedding, Let's get it on," Sirius sung this last part and began to launch himself into a full scale ear wrenching performance of the song.  
  
Lily ducked and plugged her ears, and finally James jumped up and with a well aimed stunning spell, knocked Sirius senseless.  
  
The horror of Sirius's charade over, Brittany braved a giggle. "What was that about? Did he say something about James dreaming about Lily?"  
  
Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously and James turned a bright shade of red.   
  
"It wasn't. . . like that," James stammered. "I dreamed that you were being killed by some Death Eaters."  
  
"Oh lovely, James is dreaming about me dying!" Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. "And why, Sirius, does that mean we are getting married?"  
  
Sirius stood shakily, still feeling dizzy from James's stunning spell. "Oh Lily, don't mind him, you should have seen how upset he was. He was calling out your name, like this,"  
  
Lily began to sense more danger of another Sirius scene, but she didn't have time to brace herself before Sirius threw himself to the floor and began flinging his arms about and crying out "Lily! Lovely Lily! Oh Lily baby! Lily!"   
  
Lily turned bright red as Sirius began to scream louder and louder. James buried his head in his arms and Brittany and the others exploded in laughter.  
  
"LILY I LOVE YOU!" Sirius screamed.  
  
Lily finally had endured enough and she ran out of the hall, trying to ignore the stares of students around her. It reminded her oddly of the day she had found out that John had died.

* * *

Sirius was not one to let a good joke go when it had gone to far. By mid afternoon, the whole school knew about James's dream and Sirius's role in the predicted up-coming wedding.  
  
The two were teased about it constantly. While James just laughed and retaliated in kind, Lily was left completely defenseless. The only thing she could do when faced with taunting was to get angry and scream.   
  
The problem came to a head during history of magic, when Sirius had been conspicuously holding up pictures of stick figures labeled James (the groom) and Lily (the bride) when Professor Bin's back was turned. Sirius had drawn hearts around the figures.   
  
After a few minutes of furious drawing, Sirius held up the scroll to reveal a new figure labeled 'Sirius (the best man)', with what appeared to be a microphone in his hand, and the words 'lets get it on' coming out of a speech bubble above his head.  
  
The entire class, aside from James and Lily, was trying hard to stifle their laughter, but eventually Bins caught on.  
  
"Now children," he chided in his monotone voice. "Richard the third was a very influential wizard and I think he deserves your attention. Whatever is going on?"  
  
Sirius stood and took the blame. "I'm sorry Professor, it's just that we are all so excited about the upcoming wedding."  
  
"Wedding?" Droned Bins predictably.  
  
"James and Lily's. I am going to be the best man, and sing at the wedding. It's already all planned out," Sirius announced with a smile. James and Lily glared but the rest of the class laughed.  
  
"As fascinating as this all is, it has nothing at all to do with Richard the third," Bins concluded and went back to his speech.  
  
After class, Lily approached Sirius and shoved him into a wall.   
  
Sirius winced, "Upset at my choice of songs? You can suggest another one if you like."  
  
"Sirius! Stop it! It's not funny any more. You're just as bad as James!" Lily fumed.  
  
"Calm down Lily! You really shouldn't hate your fianc's best friend. Besides, we may need your help in our prank on Gilderoy," Sirius tried to make peace.  
  
"He's not my fiancé, and I don't care about the stupid prank! Why can't you just leave me alone?"   
  
Lily stormed away to vent to Brittany, but to her disappointment Brittany was with Jackie, and when Lily approached, it was obvious that they were gushing about Gilderoy. Lily threw up her hands in frustration and went to the library instead, to distract herself by working on her latest report on the uses of bird summoning charms. 


	19. Book 1 Chapter 19

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 19- Long Noses and Quidditch Chaos**

* * *

The following weeks went very slowly for Lily, and just when she was just about to give up on the idea of her friends ever getting over the Gilderoy craze, Sirius once again proved his worth. It happened one Saturday morning, when Lily, having slept in as late as she could manage without missing breakfast, crept down to the dining hall with all due deliberation. She assumed that her friends had once again deserted her to moon over Gilderoy Lockhart.  
  
But when she entered the dining hall, she was greeted by four eager Marauders.  
  
"All right, so Lily's here, now we can start it!" Sirius spoke excitedly, ushering the confused red-head over to the table which was occupied by Brittany, Dora, Jackie and Gilderoy as well as several other girls who where head over heels in love with the stupid boy.  
  
James rolled his eyes at Lily's warm reception. "Why did we have to wait for her? We could have done it already."  
  
"James, James, Lily is the one who referred Gilderoy's case to us. It is only fair that she gets to see her revenge in action," Sirius soothed smoothly.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "This is ridiculous. Just do whatever you were going to do already!"  
  
"Come on Lils, it's not that simple," Sirius pretended to be offended and failed miserably.   
  
"What Sirius means, is for the prank to work, we need an inside man. . .or an inside woman. Anyways, we need you to get Gilderoy to eat this chocolate," Remus explained patiently. He seemed to Lily to be the most Balanced one of the marauders.  
  
Lily was reluctant to play such a prominent part in the prank, but eventually she agreed. It was for the good of the school after all. If anybody needed to be taught a lesson, well other than James and Lucius, Gilderoy was definitely the person who deserved it the most.  
  
By nature, Lily always wore her heart on her sleeve and it was pretty obvious to those who knew her just what she was thinking at any given second. While most of the students who saw her noticed right away that something was up with her, Gilderoy was too caught up in adjusting his robes and checking out his own reflection in the small mirror that Jackie had lent him to see anything strange in Lily's guilty expression.  
  
"Here Gilderoy I brought you a chocolate!" she blurted out conspicuously, biting her lip in anxiousness.   
  
"Ah!" Gilderoy greeted her happily, "I see you've finally come around young Lily. And with a token of your affection no doubt," he grinned showing many flashing white teeth.  
  
Lily's face flashed for a moment, and she was on the verge of telling him off, until she remembered the purpose of talking to him in the first place, and wisely bit her tongue. Brittany looked at her oddly, surprised that her friend had not lost her temper at Gilderoy's presumptuous remarks.  
  
The marauders subtly crowded around the table, and everyone but Gilderoy knew that something was up.  
  
Lily and the Marauders held their breath as Gilderoy put the chocolate in his mouth and chewed it.  
  
"Mmm. . . Very good Lily. I think I will be so kind hearted as to forgive you for your otherwise rude behavior. I understand that you were just struck dumb by my beauty," Gilderoy blathered good naturedly.  
  
Lily stifled a giggle, "er, right," she replied hastily.  
  
"I was just telling the others about the time I saved a busload of muggle school children from the Lochness monster. I'll gladly start over so Lily and her other friends, (he gestured towards the marauders), can understand my bravery in full."  
  
Lily groaned, waiting for whatever special ingredients which had been added to the chocolate to take effect.   
  
"I had just finished winning a young wizarding prowess contest, and was taking a nice refreshing stroll in the woods when suddenly what do I see but that troublesome Lochness monster, attacking a school bus full of children!" Gilderoy explained passionately, waving his hands to emphasize his point.  
  
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed to Lily that as he spoke, his nose seemed to grow a bit larger.  
  
"Well, valiant as I am, I had no choice but to take on the monster single-handedly, without use of my wand of course. So I jumped on it's back and fought it off with my skill. First I leaned in and it nearly bit off my head! But I swerved and punched him straight in the eye and told him to go back to the lake where he came from. That showed him. It just goes to show that the Lochness monster is no match for Gilderoy Lockhart!"  
  
By this time most of the girls were giggling and shooting each other sly glances, and the Marauders were high fiving each other over dramatically. Gilderoy's nose had extended to the approximate length of a wand and was growing rapidly as he spoke.   
  
Finally, even Gilderoy had to notice something. He felt his face in panic, quickly pulling off his hat to cover it.  
  
"Why, I daresay there are more people who need rescuing, I must be off!" Gilderoy lied in a desperate tone.  
  
Jackie shot him a disgusted look as his nose made another quick jump and the hat was no longer sufficient to cover it. Brittany and Dora were laughing and pointing, along with the rest of the school. Lily grinned exuberantly, and turned to Sirius, who was standing behind her.  
  
"I know, I know," Sirius said with a smile, "it's not an original, but I still think it's a good one."  
  
Lily grinned widely and enveloped Sirius in a gigantic hug. "That was great!"  
  
Sirius spun her around ridiculously, "I know! I am great!" he exclaimed happily.  
  
James cleared his throat and shot Lily an annoyed glare, jealous of his friend giving attention to the girl he could not stand.  
  
"Calm down James, I'll give you back your future wife," Sirius sighed and reluctantly released Lily from his death grip.  
  
Lily's happiness turned to wrath in 1 second flat at Sirius's innocent comment. She turned and shoved Sirius violently and James laughed. Then she turned and grabbed a goblet full of pumpkin juice off the table and dumped it over James's already messy hair.   
  
James sputtered and started yelling and Lily stormed out as usual.

* * *

Lily remained mad at the Marauders, although their prank had won her friends back. With end of year finals coming up, Lily and Dora spent more and more time in the library studying. Gilderoy had yet to put in another appearance since the Pinocchio incident. The Marauders on the other hand, spent as much time as possible hitting bludgers at each other and otherwise trying to forget about the upcoming tests.  
  
"We're first years. Who cares what we do on our finals? Even if we fail we've still got six more years to make it up," Remus explained casually to Lily.  
  
She only shook her head in disapproval, "I just don't understand you boys. I hope you all fail!"  
  
Between writing her own essays, and helping Dora understand the basics of all her classes, Lily had her work cut out for her. Eventually Dora reached a point where she realized that studying could only get her so far, and abandoned Lily to go play outside in her free time with the rest of the first years. Lily however, would not partake in such a luxury.  
  
Lily's nerves became tighter and tighter as the weeks went by, and the others tried their hardest not to care at all. Try as she might, she could not stop stressing over finals, although she was already first in her class, (Sirius was second), and was well versed in all the material the first years had covered.  
  
The Marauders, especially James, went back to teasing Lily about her nerdy study habits. That was, at least until one night in May when the James woke up screaming again. This time, most of the Gryffindor house had heard him calling out Lily's name.  
  
James tried to shrug it off and hide his embarrassment, but a part of him was a little confused. The dream had been much like the last one, except that he had seen her more clearly this time. He had seen the death eaters face who had been torturing her as well, and recognized it, though when he woke he could no longer remember who it was. For some reason the dream made him feel uneasy.  
  
The next morning it was hell all over again for Lily, and James felt much the same way. To retaliate, each took it out on the other and the hatred was almost tangible. Though Remus and Peter objected, Lily became the next target of the Marauders pranks. The Marauders had let off the Slytherins after they had so embarrassed themselves. They hardly needed pranking if they humiliated themselves without trying.  
  
James plotted and planned, and Sirius was only too glad to help out. Sirius loved pranks, no matter who they were on. Lily's final stress was interrupted when she suddenly sprouted an abundance of nose hair and one day a rain cloud followed her around to each of her classes. But she made it clear that she had had enough when once Charms class she became subject to a hairless curse, which made her go prematurely bald very quickly.  
  
While only an hour in the hospital ward cured her of that particular injustice, the psychological effects would stay with her for much longer. Just as Lily was leaving the hospital wing, with a damaged ego, but a full head of hair, she ran straight into Devin Goyle.  
  
She flinched automatically, remembering the prank incident where he had threatened to get even with Lily and the Marauders.   
  
Devin glared down at her and Lily made an effort to straighten her shoulders and look up boldly to meet his gaze. Without warning he reached down and grasped her wrist. Lily screamed, startled.  
  
However, after examining her hand, and gently brushing his finger over the ring she had gotten from her secret admirer, he grinned slyly and backed off as Lily pulled her hand away defensively.   
  
"That's a nice ring you've got there," he said with a laugh, before turning away, leaving Lily to wonder what had just happened.  
  
That night she confided to Brittany and Jackie about Devin Goyle's strange words, and Jackie's face lit up, making Lily regret her choice to tell the gossip prone girl.  
  
"What if Devin is your secret admirer, Lily?" Jackie exclaimed.  
  
Lily flushed red, "He's a seventh year! He would never have a crush on. . .well a first year."  
  
Jackie paused, looking disappointed. "You are right," she admitted. "But it's probably someone that Devin knows who gave you the ring, a Slytherin."   
  
Brittany grimaced. "Let's hope not! What if it's Malfoy, or Snape!"  
  
"Eww! And I thought it was bad when you thought it was James!" Lily giggled despite herself. The thought of Lucius Malfoy giving her, a mere mudblood, a ring as a token of his 'undying love' seemed ridiculous.  
  
The speculation went on for hours and in the end, Brittany and Dora agreed that Devin had nothing to do with the ring.  
  
"It had to be James," Jackie asserted. "He even dreams about you! There is no way it could be anyone else who gave you that ring."  
  
Lily groaned. "I wish I didn't have it. I'm not going to even wear it any more," she sighed and moved to pull it off her finger.  
  
Quickly Jackie darted forward and grasped Lily's hand. "Don't you dare take the ring off Lily! I will give you so much crap if you do! I'll be as bad as Sirius, I swear! Please Lils, leave it on! You never know who could have given it to you, and they could be watching you now!"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes, but eventually agreed to wear the ring, not quite sure why she was giving in so easily to Jackie. Maybe she was just glad that she had gotten her friends back from Gilderoy.

* * *

Attention was diverted from Lily and her ring when the date was announced for the final Quidditch match. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, and the outcome for the Quidditch cup, as well as the house cup were dependant on the victor. The competition had always been between the two houses, and the match only added to the tension between the two houses.  
  
Pranks were galore in the week leading up to the Quidditch Match, and Gryffindor was pushed even further behind in the race for the house cup. James and Sirius, along with the other Marauders, seemed more intent than ever to outdo each other in the race to get the most detentions. James and Sirius received two a piece, allowing Sirius to keep the lead, but Remus managed to get three and Peter got one as well.  
  
The night before the big match however, the Marauders were no where to be found. Lily was a bit suspicious, but managed to ignore her instincts. She spent the night studying, as usual, with Dora. It was Lily's nature to worry about school, even when she knew perfectly well that she was the best. Dora needed extra help, as usual, and Lily was all too willing to give it.

* * *

As a result of the late night study session, Lily and Dora did not get to bed until late that night, and Lily swore she heard whispering outside her dorm just as she drifted off, though she could not make out who it could be.  
  
The morning dawned bright and early. Too bright and too early in Lily's opinion. She refused to get out of bed, much to the protests of Brittany and the others. Finally they gave up on their friend and went off to the Quidditch match without her.  
  
But just in the nick of time Sirius saved the day by jumping atop the sleeping red head and forcibly pulling her in the direction of the Quidditch field by her hair.  
  
Lily, clad in her pajamas arrived along with Sirius just as the whistle was blown and the two seekers took off. But the game was hardly the only topic of conversation. Written in large flashing maroon and gold letters were the words: Slytherin Stinks! The message was massive and attracted all eyes. While it seemed to have put most of the school in relatively good mood, the Slytherin's looked none too happy.  
  
Brittany turned to Lily, surveyed her outfit, and drowsy state and giggled. When she overcame her bout of hysterics she began to whisper to Lily about the controversial words on the field. "Isn't that great? Slytherin stinks! Look at them, they're so mad. It's brilliant really!"  
  
Sirius took a comical bow and smiled, "well thank you Brittany, I do find myself brilliant on so many levels."  
  
Lily's smile turned into a glare, she was still mad at Sirius for the teasing her about James's strange dreams and the supposed impending marriage. "I don't think it's funny at all. It's bad sportsmanship, that's all it is."  
  
James returned her glare and the two continued to stare dangerously at each other until a loud cheer from the crowd drew their eyes back to the Quidditch game. Blake Blackstone, one of the Gryffindor chasers had just put the quaffle through a hoop, scoring the first points of the game. Lily screamed along with the rest of the school (aside from the Slytherins) and leapt out her seat ignoring the attention she was getting due to her nightgown and slippers.  
  
Most of the school was clearly on Gryffindor's side, despite the house's reputation for being a bit mischievous. The flashing words across the grass seemed to mirror the school's overall attitude toward the Slytherins.  
  
But the words were not enough to deter the Slytherins. Instead it served only to increase the level of both anger and violence on and off the playing field. After the Blake scored, the competition increased drastically and Lily noticed that Devin Goyle and Barty Crouch were beginning to resort to treachery. Both seventh years were beaters and it seemed that they were making a tremendous effort to direct all bludgers in the path of the Gryffindor players.  
  
However, Blake Blackstone and the other Gryffindor chaser Amos Diggory were doing a superb job of dodging the foul bludgers, though Sirius and James agreed that the Gryffindor beaters, who were both fourth years were not the sport justice.  
  
"Next year, we're going to be beaters James," Sirius declared. "Those buffoons don't deserve the title," he motioned toward the two Gryffindor beaters.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes, always the know-it-all. "Don't be ridiculous. They won't even let out try out for beater if they already have the position filled. And it looks like they do!"  
  
"Oh Lily," Sirius sighed sadly, "You have so much to learn!"  
  
At that point everybody's hero Frank Longbottom went into a sudden dive, followed closely by Barty Crouch, who sent a bludger straight at Frank's head. It missed. The Slytherin Seeker, Bren Has finally spotted the movement of the Gryffindor seeker and soared after him as the crowd caught it's breath. Suddenly Frank came out of his swoop, his blond hair golden and glorious in the sun and glinting in his hand was the golden snitch.  
  
The crowd erupted in cheers and all of Gryffindor basked in Frank's reflected splendor. He flew above the stands, his face brilliant against the background of the green grass. Slytherin Stinks! flashed behind him, lighting his outline in maroon and gold.  
  
With all of the students' eyes on the brilliant figure of Gryffindor Quidditch captain Frank Longbottom, few people noticed the losing captain Barty Crouch slinking away, his eyes on the ground. Few people noticed the hate in his eyes, and the need for vengeance. 


	20. Book 1 Chapter 20

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 20- Uneasy Sleep and Last Minute Madness**

* * *

Lily lifted the bright red apple, smiling over at Brittany. She had brilliantly lifted the very last apple off of the platter. The sun glinted off the red surface, shining above them on the brilliant Dining Hall ceiling.  
  
"Accio Apple!" James called suddenly, putting to use the summoning spell the first years had learned that morning. In light of Lord Voldemort's rise to power, the school had been placing extra emphasis on the students learning a variety of useful spells.  
  
"Hey!" Lily shouted indignantly before lifting her own wand. "Accio Apple!" she called, and the apple came zooming back to it's original owner.  
  
Lily smiled triumphantly, but James wasn't done. He repeated the spell and the apple was his. What followed was a furious, yet pointless battle which involved much wand waving and shouting of "Accio apple!"  
  
Finally Sirius intervened by reaching forward and grabbing the apple mid-flight. James and Lily stared in astonishment, their wands still at the ready as Sirius casually rolled it in his and then took a large bite. Sirius glanced up with a puzzled air, "What? I like apples." He shrugged.

* * *

The week of finals, Lily stressed constantly, along with the rest of the school, but once they were over, she finally learned to relax with the other students, and joined the rest of the first years outside. The last few days of school at Hogwarts were like a dream for Lily. She couldn't imagine leaving.  
  
She was eager to go home and see her family, despite the whole Petunia situation, but was very reluctant to leave behind her friends and her new magical life for a whole summer.   
  
James and the Marauders had no such regrets. They all came from magical families and were certain to have a blast over the summer.   
  
When it came time for the end of the year banquet, all students were anxious. Gryffindor was in the lead, having defeated the Slytherins in the Quidditch cup, but the Ravenclaws were not far behind. It turned out that the Gryffindors pulled through by a hair at just the last moment, and managed to secure the house cup as well as the Quidditch one.   
  
The great hall was decked out in maroon and gold for the end of year banquet, in honor of the victorious house, and most of the students were in very good humor, even those from losing houses. Lily thoroughly stuffed herself, leaving no dish untouched.  
  
Most of the Gryffindors stayed up very late that night celebrating. Some older students had smuggled in some butterbeer and decorations had mysteriously appeared in the common room. It wasn't until the wee hours of the night that Professor Lacy finally broke up the fun and sent all the students to bed for their final night of the year in Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Lily stayed up wondering what the summer would bring, and remembering all the amazing things she had experienced over the years. She remembered when she had arrived at the train station to go to Hogwarts for the first time. James had tricked her into running into a barrier, and later he had angered her to the point of falling into the lake. Their feud had begun just as soon as she had come to Hogwarts.  
  
"Brittany," Lily whispered finally, wondering if she was the only one awake.   
  
Brittany shot up in bed, "So I guess I'm not the only one awake," she muttered.  
  
"Do you remember when we first came here? Do you remember how horrible James was to me? How horrible he still is?" Lily asked pleasantly.  
  
"Oh come on Lily, he was never that horrible to you," Brittany rolled her eyes. "He defended you when Lucius called you a mudblood, remember that?"  
  
Lily sighed. "Yeah, then he poisoned me."  
  
"You poisoned him too! At the same time!" Brittany retorted defensively.  
  
Lily giggled, "That was pretty funny. But we got detention with Terrance and Malfoy in the dungeons," she grimaced at the memory. "And then we got another one re-planting the Whomping Willow."  
  
The silence lasted in the room for a few moments and then a new voice piped in, "I wonder what the willow is really there for?"  
  
"Dora?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The girls contemplated the question for a moment. "I dunno," Brittany finally concluded. "It seems odd that Hogwarts would have such a dangerous tree, but I suppose Hogwarts is a very odd sort of place."  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Dora whispered with a smile. "Do you remember flying lessons? I love flying!"  
  
Brittany giggled, "James was nice to you during flying practice Lily. As I remember it you got a private lesson."  
  
Lily shot up in bed and tossed a pillow violently in Brittany's direction. The pillow missed and hit Jackie instead, who sputtered and rubbed her eyes.  
  
"What are you three on about," she muttered sleepily.  
  
"We're just arguing whether James is nice to Lily or not," Dora explained.  
  
Jackie smiled, "Of course he is! He gave you that ring didn't he!"  
  
Lily flushed, "It is not! It's from a secret admirer. James would never give me a ring! Don't be ridiculous!"  
  
"He's nicer to you than he is to the Slytherins anyway," Dora added unsurely.   
  
"Urgh… Even James is better than Malfoy and Terrance!" Lily admitted. "Remember when they put that freezing charm on us and set us to drift on a raft in the lake?"  
  
Brittany let out a little shriek, waking several other girls in the dormitory. "Yes! Of course I remember. That was so horrible of them! The little weasels! But at least the Marauders got them back. Remember? James and Sirius locked them in the bathroom with dung bombs! I have to admit that was a stroke of brilliance."  
  
"I remember that," yawned another of the newly awakened girls. "They smelled for weeks but they got what they deserved if you ask me."  
  
"Remember when John gave you tickets for his Quidditch match," Dora asked almost sadly.  
  
Lily nodded, silent for a moment. "I miss John."  
  
The dark air seemed to fill with painful silence, the memory of John Potter's untimely death smothering all the fun out of the reminiscence. Minutes ticked by and no one could find words to express the emptiness that his absence left, and one by one the girls drifted off into sleep.

* * *

As soon as James Potter closed his eyes the dream began. This time it was different, but he could tell that it was the same dream. He saw Lily's face, smiling. She was holding a small velvet box in one hand. He watched her open it and slip gasp as she saw a sparkling ring. She pulled it out and slipped it onto her finger.   
  
Suddenly the scene flashed forward and James was in the familiar field. The robed death eaters were standing in a circle and Lily was in the center, screaming and bleeding. James was afraid that she was going to die. Over her stood a boy in Hogwarts robes, unlike the rest and his face was familiar to James. He recognized him as a Slytherin and just as the boy's name came to his mind, he awoke with a start.  
  
Sirius was standing over him, and for once his face was not taunting, but rather fearful. "What is it James? Are you okay?"  
  
James arched his back and realized he was on the floor and his face was drenched in sweat. He took a few deep breaths before answering.  
  
"Yeah, Sirius, I'm alright. What happened?"  
  
Sirius helped his friend up and James sat warily on the edge of his bed.   
  
"I don't know James. You woke us all up again, screaming about Lily. But this time when we tried to snap you out of it, you wouldn't wake up. You just kept rolling around on the floor and screaming. Are you alright James? Maybe you should go see Madame Klase," Sirius suggested.  
  
Remus stood next to him now, looking every bit as worried as Sirius. James decided that he liked it better when his friends were teasing him than when they were fussing over him.  
  
"I'm fine guys. I just had a nightmare I guess," James explained wearily, trying his best to sound convincing.

* * *

The next morning was very hectic. All the girls were up packing very early and all last minute preparations were still being made.  
  
"Dora! I need your phone number!" Jackie cried while Lily was hurrying downstairs to the owlery to fetch Lothlorien and Brittany was having a panic attack.  
  
It took nearly four hours, but all four girls were downstairs and ready for the last breakfast they would ever eat as first years. Lily was still slightly sad. The previous night's mention of John had left the girls feeling a bit down.  
  
The Marauders made a late appearance, but it was nothing less than grand. Just as Lily was about to feel reassured that they would not make it in time for breakfast, the four boys came tumbling through the dining hall doors, out of breath but not speechless.  
  
To Lily's surprise, they did not stop running when they entered the hall and Lily quickly learned the reason when right behind them was Filch, the strange young caretaker, chasing after them with a look of utmost rage on his face.  
  
"You horrid kids! I'll be here a month cleaning that mess up! You think it's a funny prank do you? A last little first year scam? Well it's not funny and it's not little! I'll have you expelled for this one boys," Filch hissed angrily.  
  
The Marauders took off in separate directions across the hall. Peter ran straight into Professor Ludwick, Remus was snatched quickly by Professor Lacy and James was stopped by Dumbledore himself. Sirius in the meanwhile was hiding under a table occupied by several very frightened Hufflepuffs and had to be extracted by hand by Filch himself, who nearly wrung Sirius's neck before Dumbledore thought to pull him off.  
  
Whispers of "what did they do," and "I knew that they would pull a prank on the last day," filled the room after the Marauders were escorted out. They went passively, aside from Sirius, who struggled and fought with Filch the whole way.  
  
"I won't let them take me alive!" Sirius screamed just as he was pulled out of the dining hall by the hair.  
  
Curiosity overcame most of the students' desire to finish their breakfast and witches and wizards of all years began to trickle out of the dining hall to see what had caused the commotion. Lily reluctantly joined the masses after a bit of prompting from her friends. What was waiting in the entrance hall was worth leaving the dining hall.   
  
A huge lifelike picture of the Marauders was painted across the whole of the entrance hall wall. A mammoth sized Sirius gave Peter a wedgie and tried to hide behind James, instead pulling his cloak off. The picture James knocked Sirius on the side of his head and refastened his cloak smugly. Remus grinned and laughed as Peter struggled with his wedgie. Underneath the life-sized images of the Marauders were the words, "A Tribute To The Best Humans Alive."  
  
While most of the school found this immensely funny, Lily was instantly offended. "They think they can get away with anything! What makes them think that the whole school wants to see a tribute to them for the rest of the year?" Lily fumed.  
  
"Lily," Dora soothed, "There is only an hour left until summer. The rest of the year is hardly very long. I'm sure Filch will get it removed before next year. Calm down."  
  
Never-the-less, Lily's animosity lasted until they boarded the train. Just as Lily, Brittany and Dora had found a compartment and settled down, James and Remus burst in. Lily met them with a cold glare and before they could make their excuses and leave, Jackie ran breathlessly into the compartment holding in one palm the blue velvet case in which Lily's ring had come.  
  
"Lily!" Jackie gasped excitedly, "You almost forgot your box! Can you believe it? That would have been awful!"  
  
Lily flushed, "It's just a box Jackie, and hoped that James and Remus would not say anything embarrassing.  
  
"Oh, but it's from your secret admirer! You have to keep it, as a memento," Jackie insisted, shoving it into Lily's hand. Lily rolled her eyes, and placed it gently inside her bag.  
  
When she glanced up she noticed Remus tugging on James's robes. James had a strange look on his face. He seemed to be staring at the box as if there was something unusual about it.  
  
"James, let's go!" Remus shouted, snapping James out of his trance. The two boys left the compartment quickly, frightened off by Lily's evil glare.  
  
As the train took off, Lily found herself wondering who her secret admirer was, and whether she would see him in the year to come. Her first year at Hogwarts had been fantastic, and she was reluctant to go back into the Muggle world.  
  
The girls giggled and chatted, and when the carts came by, rushed to sort out their money in order to buy chocolate frogs. Lily was collecting the wizard cards which could be found within, and was very pleased when she discovered a Herbert Drooble inside her frog.  
  
Lily was happily reading the back of her card, while Jackie and Brittany were comparing toenails when suddenly she felt the world going black. She screamed as her body was pulled inward. Lily felt as if she was being pulled into her ring, the metal turned hot and then suddenly it cooled and she opened her eyes warily. She was not in the same place she had been a moment ago.

* * *

Dora's voice box was growing worn out. She had screamed so loud that Brittany finally had to slap her. Dora blubbered, frightened and confused.  
  
"She. . .she's gone! Where did Lily go?" Dora cried in panic.  
  
Brittany rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it was the Marauders. Let's go find them and get her back."  
  
Jackie looked a little unsure, "I don't know Brittany, I don't think the Marauders could do something like this. . .maybe we should find Dumbledore. I mean, people don't just disappear."  
  
Dora burst into noisy tears and the other two girls looked at her nervously, wondering where the red head had gone.  
  
However, Brittany was a born leader and it was not in her nature to go into hysterics when something went wrong so she stepped forward and took action. "Well we might as well ask the Marauders before we jump to conclusions. Come on girls," she ordered.  
  
The blond girl walked with more confidence than she felt, followed by a tentative Jackie, and a weeping Dora. The three of them made quite a group. It didn't take long for them to find the Marauders, who were two compartments down.  
  
Sirius shot them a strange assessing look when they entered the Marauder's compartment and Peter was so shocked he dropped his chocolate frog.  
  
"What did you boys do to Lily?" Brittany asked immediately, pointing an accusing finger in James's face.  
  
Shock was clearly evident on James face, "I didn't. . ." he started.  
  
Sirius jumped forward, "I take all the credit," he announced grandly, taking a bow.  
  
"So you made Lily disappear?" Jackie spoke timidly.  
  
"Yes! I definitely made Lily disappear. I am a genius you can see," Sirius spoke suavely with a wide grin.  
  
"Wait, Lily disappeared?" James asked in a strangely constricted voice. "Did she just leave, or like 'poof' vanish?"  
  
"Well there was no poof," moaned Dora. "One moment she was there, just sitting and looking at a chocolate frog and the next she was gone and all I could here was her screaming!" Dora broke down into tears again, becoming incomprehensible.  
  
"Genius," Sirius mused, "Pure Genius, the perfect prank."  
  
James twitched anxiously, apparently not taking the news quite as easily as Sirius. He remembered his dream of the night before and a question popped into his head without him thinking about it. "Was she wearing her ring?"  
  
Brittany looked at James like he was crazy. "Yeah, sure, but what does that have to do with anything? Lily is missing you guys! I think something bad might have happened to her. I don't know I just feel like whatever happened it was no simple prank," a note of panic had crept into her voice and this caused Dora to break down completely.  
  
James seemed to be studying the back of his hand. "The death eaters," he mumbled under his breath, "the dream."  
  
Everyone turned to stare at him, and James suddenly jumped in the air. "The ring, it must have been a port key!"  
  
"Who would give Lily a port key?" Jackie asked doubtfully. "Where would it take her? Did you say something about a death eater?"  
  
James was not paying attention. "There's nothing I can do! It's too late. She's gone. She's going to die. I saw it in my dream."  
  
"Shut up!" Jackie yelled suddenly. "Stop it James! Stop it! You're lying."  
  
James shook his head and collapsed to the floor miserably. "She's gone," he whispered. 


	21. Book 1 Chapter 21

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 21- Initiation and Blood  
**

* * *

Lily lay on the ground shivering for several minutes before she braved opening her eyes. She was in the middle of a grassy open field. There was not a train in sight. She sat up slowly, still in shock. Had she perhaps apparated by accident? She had heard of the advanced technique that some older wizards used to get around. It was the only explanation Lily could think of.  
  
It was a few moments before Lily noticed that she was not alone. A dark robed figure stood not far from her, with his back turned towards her.  
  
Shakily, she stood and called out to the ominous man. "Hey! Hey you! Do you know where I am?"  
  
The robed figure did not turn around, but laughed coldly. Lily watched him silently, fighting an overwhelming instinct telling her to run.  
  
"Your gravesite," he answered forebodingly after she had all but given up on a reply.  
  
Lily's eye's widened and she began to back up slowly, before breaking into a sprint. But then many figures began to appear from no where all around her. Each was robed in black and wore a dark foreboding hood. Lily screamed as the figures approached silently. She recognized them as death eaters. She turned the other direction and stumbled falling to the ground.  
  
They assembled silently, forming a circle around her and the first figure who seemed to Lily somehow different from the others, younger perhaps.  
  
Finally all places were filled in the circle aside from one, where Lily knew was the place which was reserved for Lord Voldemort himself. She wondered if this was what it was like as an inmate on death row, with only a few seconds left. She felt that it must be a mistake that she was here, but could not deny that it was doubtless a fatal one.   
  
Moments before he arrived, Lily felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickle. The wind blew slightly across the tall overgrown grass and Lily huddled closer to the ground, wishing she could disappear. She could not turn away as the empty spot began to waver and thrill as if whoever was about to occupy it was too powerful to simply appear.  
  
His outline began to be visible, and then he was there, no bigger than a man in size, but carrying an aura which dripped power and fear. Lily gagged and averted his gaze. The tension was growing by the moment.   
  
She saw that every robed figure was kneeling respectfully. Lily lay on the ground trembling.  
  
"Greetings my faithful Death Eaters," a authoritative voice called. "Today we are gathered here to judge whether an aspiring Death Eater is worthy. On this grass he will perform his task, he will slay an innocent and her blood will forever stain this grass in the name of Lord Voldemort. If the task is completed as ordered, Devin Goyle will join your ranks."  
  
Voldemort turned and surveyed his death eaters. Both Lily and the first robed figure were outside the circle. Lily staggered to her feet quickly. She knew now what part she was to play in the night's festivities and no intention of serving as an innocent sacrifice.   
  
She began to run but she was not fast enough.  
  
"Death Eaters may stand. Devin Goyle you'd best begin, your prey is getting away from you. I must remind you that neither me nor my followers can do a thing to assist you," Voldemort droned in a bored tone.  
  
"Imoblius!" Devin shouted and Lily froze.  
  
Devin strode quickly over to Lily and looked her in the face. She could not move, but continued to look into his face with wide eyes.  
  
"Hello little Lily. Didn't I tell you I would get my revenge? Who else would send you a ring? Secret admirer! Ha! I just wanted to get you here. The ring was a port key," Devin whispered malevolently as he dragged Lily into the circle of Death Eaters.   
  
"Finite Incantem!" Devin shouted, ending Lily's motionless state.  
  
Lily fell to the ground, cowering in fear of Devin's wrath. She realized what Devin meant when he said the ring was a port key. A port key was a tool used by wizards to move people from one place to another.   
  
"I shall begin my Lord," Devin addressed Voldemort respectfully.

* * *

While Brittany, Dora, Jackie, Remus, Sirius and Peter were searching the train thoroughly for signs of the vanished Lily, James was lying across several seats in the abandoned compartment, trying to forget his horrible premonition. He fought with Lily a lot, and he really could not stand her, but the thought of her dying made him feel sick inside. He remembered when she had been at his side when he had got the news about John, and felt horrible having failed her.  
  
"If only I had figured it out sooner," James whispered to himself. "I could have saved her. If only I had just told her to take off the ring. I could have warned her."  
  
Sadly James closed his eyes and sleep came upon him.

* * *

Devin stepped forward slowly, until he stood above Lily. She felt helpless. She did not have her wand and there was no way she could fight Devin in any way. He was more than a match for her and they were surrounded by hundreds of Death Eaters, who would kill her on a word from Voldemort.  
  
"You will die slowly, and your blood will stain this field in the name of Voldemort," Devin spoke coldly, pointing his wand at Lily. "Arteria Ectomortus!"  
  
Lily felt a her skin split along her left ankle and blood began to pour out. She screamed and began to cry in pain and fear. Devin suddenly looked very young and afraid. He held his wand out in psuedo-bravery and aimed it at Lily, directing the spell while he pointed.  
  
New incisions appeared over Lily's right wrist and across her forehead. She panicked when the blood touched her forehead and tried to crawl away, but Devin stopped her by creating an opening across her back and on her knee.   
  
Lily collapsed in the cool grass, covered in warm sticky blood. It was flowing fast and she felt dizzy and weak. She wondered how long she would have to endure this bleeding before she would die. Resigning herself to the fact that her end was approaching quickly, Lily shut her eyes and thought of her parents, and her friends. She couldn't imagine what their reaction would be when they found out she would never see them again.  
  
Around her the Death Eaters circled, and Devin held fast.

* * *

James dozed peacefully for only a moment, his dreams were hijacked almost immediately by the same breed of foul premonition that he had been teased for before. This time he did not see Lily, nor did he see death eaters. He saw Devin Goyle, holding a blue velvet box. The box became very clear, and James saw him open it. Inside was the ring which Lily had received from her secret admirer. Devin set down the box and picked up his wand, casting a spell.  
  
The spell washed over the ring and for a moment both the velvet box and the sparkling token of apparent affection glowed silver.   
  
James woke with a start and jumped out of bed. Knocking over students and luggage, James raced down the corridor until he bumped into Dora who looked quite taken aback.  
  
"Dora! Thank God! Where's Lily's blueringboxfromheradmirer?" James yelled very quickly.  
  
Dora looked confused, "What?  
  
"Her ring box!" James spoke exasperatedly, "Where is the box from her secret admirer."  
  
Dora shrugged. "Does it matter? Lily is missing. I hardly think her ring is important right now.  
  
James wanted to shake her, but wisely restrained himself. "Dora, this is very important, where is the little blue velvet box. I need to know!"  
  
"I think Jackie put it in one of her bags," Dora sounded uncertain. "Why?"  
  
"It doesn't matter why," James waved his hands eagerly, "Just show me where it is!"  
  
Dora flinched at James's harsh tone, but obediently escorted him to the compartment which Lily had disappeared from. She watched as James proceeded to dig through all of Lily's suitcases, dumping most of her belongings on the floor, until it fell out of the case. The blue velvet box lay on the floor among Lily's books and robes. It looked to James as the Holy Grail had to Sir Galahad, every bit as magnificent and alluring.  
  
James took a deep breath, preparing himself to plummet into the dangerous world of his nightmares. Something told him that he would be in danger. But James was a Gryffindor and he could not sit idly by while another suffered. With a final glance at the safe haven the Hogwarts train provided, James picked up the velvet box.

* * *

Lily shut her eyes, hoping that death would come swiftly. She had lost so much blood. The grass around her was drenched in it and she knew that she was hanging onto consciousness by a thread. Lily felt her blood and her life pouring from her and she was overcome by a sudden urge to fight, to survive. She opened her eyes and painfully rolled over to look at the sky.  
  
She turned her head towards Devin, who stood staring at her with weak resolve. All around them were death eaters. Devin returned her gaze as stonily as he could manage, obviously nauseous at the sight of so much blood.   
  
Then out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw another person. He was wearing Hogwarts robes and holding a little blue velvet box, his wand at the ready. Lily was sure he was a hallucination, but she had never been happier to see him.  
  
"Finite Incantem!" James cried boldly, and Lily felt the blood stop it's evacuation of her veins. Her open cuts healed quickly, leaving no scars or marks at all.  
  
Devin hesitated, shocked that such a thing could happen. That half second of hesitation cost him his chance.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" James called, summoning the older boy's wand. He grasped it quickly and ran to Lily where she lay on the grass.  
  
Devin cursed and turned to the Death Eaters. "We are strong together! Help me defeat him! The spell is not yet complete!" he appealed.  
  
The robed figures did not move. Only Voldemort spoke. "It is your task Devin and yours alone. If you fail you will not become one of us. It will be your blood which stains the earth."  
  
"James," Lily whispered weakly. The relief was evident in her voice. "Stop him," she warned as Devin made a last desperate attempt to attack James, unarmed.  
  
James pointed his wand and stunned Devin, before lifting Lily and gently carrying her away from the circle. He took her as far as he could, before his legs started to give out. James was not much bigger than Lily and it was a difficult task to carry her far.   
  
"It's going to be okay now. We're safe," he assured her. But they were not very far from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and Lily had lost a lot of blood. He could tell that her life was in danger if he didn't get her back to a fully trained wizard very quickly.  
  
James thought hard. There was no way that they could go much further on foot. He wished he had his broom. "The summoning spell!" James exclaimed aloud to the barely conscious Lily. "I could summon my broom."  
  
He knew that it would take a lot of power to summon his broom all the way from Hogwarts, but James was desperate, and he knew that without it, Lily could very well die.  
  
"Accio Lightening rod!" James called desperately. For a long while nothing happened, and James was about to give up on his broom when he saw it buzzing toward them.   
  
James grabbed, laughing gleefully. He never thought the spell would work from so far away. "Come on Lily, let's get out of here!" He positioned her on his lap, holding her tightly in case she lost consciousness.   
  
The broom lifted up and James flew as fast as he dared. He had no destination in mind, but he just wanted to get as far away from the horrible place as possible. Only when the circle of Death Eaters was far out of site did James dare to discard Devin's wand.   
  
The grassy fields had long since given way to brushy hills, and then again to forestry. As much as James loved nature, he could not help but feel that this was a very bad time to be in the middle of nowhere. Eventually he spotted a stream, and carefully landed. Somewhere along the journey, Lily had passed out, so James half carried, half dragged her to the stream and carefully washed the blood off her. He was sure that he had stopped the bleeding when he had shouted the spell to end the curse, and he could find no open wounds, yet it seemed that Lily was still surrounded by a pool of blood.  
  
She groaned at one point and her brilliant green eyes fluttered open, and then shut again weakly. James was disappointed. As annoying as he found Lily, even her input would have been welcome to him at this point. He knew that he would never be able to find civilization by flying aimlessly into the sky.  
  
James thought back and suddenly he remembered a spell that John had taught him when he was a little boy. The two boys used to fly off on their brooms through the English countryside. Often they would go too far to find their way home. John had taught James a spell which would point his wand in the direction of a person he wanted to find.  
  
James positioned Lily comfortably atop his broom, holding onto her in the with one arm while holding his wand and controlling his broom with the other. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but once he did James spoke the words to the spell, "Encontus Sirius!" he called. James knew that Sirius would be aboard the train, and he knew that by finding Sirius, he would be finding salvation.  
  
The breeze swept past James, and he felt his wand pulling towards one direction. James shifted Lily until he was sure he could steer his broom, hold his wand and still keep her from falling and took off. If he was not such an experienced flyer he never would have managed it.   
  
However, James was an experienced flyer, and he did manage it.

* * *

"The responsible thing to do would be to contact Dumbledore," Dora took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "First Lily went missing, and then James. I don't know what happened, but we need to get a hold of him."  
  
"How?" Remus asked puzzled. "None of the teachers ride the train back."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes impatiently. "We've panicked for long enough. Just leave it to Sirius Black. I know just how to cause enough of a commotion to make Dumbledore come."  
  
The others shot each other hesitant looks, but Sirius was already putting his plan into action. "Peter, get me four prefects, head boy and girl are bonuses. Remus, go get me James's cloak. Dora and Brittany, try to persuade the woman with the snack cart to come up to this compartment. Tell her that there are many hungry people up here with a lot of money. Come on people! Let's do this!" Sirius ordered.

* * *

Lily awoke once more, in mid flight and let out a scream at the sudden sensation of flying through the air. James grabbed her as she attempted to sit, but moments later she fell back into unconsciousness, which James could not help but interpret as a bad sign. He had been flying for ages and his body was cramped from holding Lily at such an awkward angle.   
  
James wondered if he would ever locate help, or if the two of them would die trying. Just when the latter was beginning to seem a more plausible course, James made out a thin wisp of smoke, curling above some tall trees off in the distance. The steam seemed to be moving, snake-like through the clouds. James leaned forward and flew as quickly as he could towards the unknown.  
  
Just as quickly as it came, the smoky strand disappeared through the trees, leaving James without any visible sign of hope. 


	22. Book 1 Chapter 22

**Living A Legend  
Book 1- A Clash of Wills  
Chapter 22- Ends and Beginnings**

* * *

Sirius waited rather impatiently until everything was in place. When the four prefects and the snack cart lady arrived, Sirius was already safely under James's cloak. James had gotten the cloak from his older brother, and it had the power to conceal whoever was wearing it. The truth was, James's cloak was an invisibility cloak, a very rare and valuable item.  
  
It took a great deal of self control for Sirius to wait until the perfect moment, but he somehow did it. Just as the annoyed prefects were about to leave the compartment, Sirius leaped up and snagged some cauldron cakes off the food cart and pelted them at the retreating Prefects. Sirius was invisible, so naturally the sight of cakes flying through mid air was enough to frighten the woman with the cart a great deal.  
  
But scaring the cart lady was not enough to summon Dumbledore. Sirius continued to pelt the surprised Prefects until Frank Longbottom, the head boy, came bursting in. Sirius hesitated, the Quidditch star was everyone's hero, but he knew that it was his duty to James to cause the biggest commotion he could.  
  
With the invisibility cloak shielding him from prying eyes, Sirius stealthy snuck around to the opposite side of Frank, and smoothly pulled down his pants.  
  
Frank darted around, "Which one of you did this!" he shouted with a red face at the quivering prefects, while readjusting his trousers.  
  
As soon as Frank had pulled them back up, Sirius was there to pull them down again.  
  
By this point, Frank was furious. But when Sirius pulled his cloak over his head, he looked ready to kill.  
  
"What's going on?" one terrified prefect asked nervously.   
  
Sirius smiled, he was just getting started.  
  
After a bit more scaring the prefects, Sirius knew it was time to get serious. He picked up his wand and skillfully cast a spell which made all the glass window panes disappear. Instantly, the entire train was filled with a howling so loud that many students screamed, and within moments, the train actually stopped.  
  
"And checkmate," Sirius said with a cocky smile, tossing James's invisibility cloak aside.

* * *

James felt disappointment flood his body as the smoke disappeared from the horizon. He had really hoped it had been the Hogwarts Train. He was tired, nearly exhausted and wanted to land more than anything. Sadly, James continued in the same direction, following his wand.  
  
Suddenly he felt his wand aiming downwards, towards the forest below him. Clutching Lily's limp body tightly in his arms, he sighed and began to spiral downwards. He was in poor spirits at this point. Lily's breath was growing more and more erratic and he was beginning to doubt whether the spell he was using was actually locating Sirius.  
  
Just as he was giving up hope, a glint of red caught his eye. Excitedly, James accelerated and a long red snake of a train began to unwind before him. It was stopped in it's tracks and James swirled downwards, almost not daring to hope that it was the Hogwarts express.  
  
When he got lower, he saw that it was indeed the Hogwarts Express. He did not bother to wonder why it was stopped. James zoomed in and saw that the glass was absent from the windows.  
  
James hovered for a moment and then judged the distance and squeezed through the window, Lily and all.  
  
He was met with screams as he landed his broom. He laid Lily gently on a bunk and made the student's promise to watch her for a moment. James hurried off in search of Sirius.  
  
He did not have to go very far. He walked into the next compartment and came face to face with three whimpering prefects, Sirius, Remus, Dora, Brittany, Peter, Jackie and Dumbledore himself.  
  
James did not have to say a word. Dumbledore saw the blood on James's cloak and turned to follow him.

* * *

"I know this is not easy to talk about Lily, and you have been very brave," Dumbledore explained gravely. "But I need you to tell us one more time what exactly happened."  
  
Lily sighed and sat up in her hospital bed and told the story again, in front of her parents, James's family, the minister of magic, and Dumbledore. Lily tried to leave James's bravery out as much as she could. She was horrified that James had saved her, as if she had truly needed saving. Finally, she told them names of death eaters whom she had recognized who had been present.  
  
After she finished, Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic, Charles De'Leux stepped out of the room, leaving both Lily's parents and James's parents to gush over Lily.  
  
"I'm perfectly fine," Lily defended haughtily with a glare towards James, "I hardly needed rescuing."  
  
James rolled his eyes at this, "Yeah right, if it wasn't for me, you'd be dead."  
  
"Oh, poor Lily!" James's mother crooned, still remembering the sting of her eldest son's demise.  
  
Lily flinched away, angry at James for his interference.   
  
"Are you sure you don't want anything dear?" Lily's father asked, pressing a hand to her forehead.  
  
"No. I told you I am FINE. I want to leave now," she begged, attempting to sit up against the adult's protests.  
  
Finally Dumbledore entered the room, unaccompanied by the Minister of Magic. "I am sorry, but Charles refuses to press charges against any of the boys you named. I personally am convinced of the truth of your story, but sadly the Minister of Magic feels differently. Unfortunately it is not my place to decide. But I can assure you that if another incident arises, which I feel it will, I will not let the matter lie."  
  
"How can he not believe her?" Lily's mother sounded shocked.  
  
"Rebecca, it is a matter of the word of two eleven year olds against the word of some of the most powerful and influential wizards of our time. I am sorry, but there is little that can be done logistically. However, I will be keeping a very close watch on the wizards in question," Dumbledore stated, with a hard gleam in his eyes which made Lily feel that he was a very good wizard to have on her side. She had never seen that side of Dumbledore but he looked as if he was not someone to cross.

* * *

Three days later, Lily was out of the hospital and on her way home. James and his family were just leaving as well. Lily ignored the boy with a vengeance as the families said their goodbye. Both James and Lily's parents had become very close over the time that their children were being questioned and cared for, and promised to keep in touch.  
  
"Well I guess this is it, until next year," James mused.  
  
Lily shot him a strange look. "You sound like a whiny little baby. I am glad I don't have to see you for three whole months."  
  
"Well duh!" James rolled his eye. "Like I would want to see your ugly face."  
  
The two sat in impatient silence for a few minutes, waiting for their parents to finally leave.  
  
"You might as well take this," James blurted out suddenly, and then blushed.   
  
He pulled a parcel out of his cloak and thrust it towards Lily, who flinched as if she expected it to explode. When after a few moments, the package showed no sign of exploding, Lily carefully tore off the brown paper.  
  
Inside was a simple black picture frame, with the a picture of James and herself inside it. The picture was from the day that the two of them had worked with the Whomping Willow. Inadvertently, Lily smiled. In the picture both of them were filthy, covered in blood and grime. James had a gruesome black eye, and his nose was clearly spouting blood and Lily had a large cut on her forehead. Never-the-less, the two were smiling happily, and James had his arm around Lily's shoulder.  
  
"I suppose that was one of the only moments the two of us got along this year," James said unexpectedly.  
  
Lily nodded quietly. "It's been a very long year at that."  
  
"So many things happened. We had a lot of fun. . .but at the same time. . .some horrible things happened," James spoke quietly, his head down.  
  
"I'm so sorry about your brother. . .and about some of the things I said," Lily confessed.  
  
James opened his mouth, but at that moment, the parents seemed to have finally made their goodbyes.  
  
"James, let's go honey!" called one mother.  
  
"Lily, we're leaving," called another.  
  
And without a further glance, the two went their separate ways.

* * *

**Here ends Book 1 of Living A Legend. Book 2, The Price of Glory Begins with the next chapter. ****

* * *

**


	23. Book 2 Chapter 1

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 1- Bludger Surprise and Abandonment Issues**

* * *

"I know you don't want to, James, but I think it is for the best," Martha Potter explained uncomfortably. She was having second thoughts about sending her only living son away.  
  
James did not respond. He stared dejectedly out the window of the sedan. Sirius had never seen his friend so glum.  
  
"James, this may seem unfair, but your father and I feel that it will keep you safe. After what happened to your brother, you know that our family is a target. Your father's job as an auror puts us all at risk. It is so hard for me to do this, but I love you too much to let you remain with us when you might be in danger."  
  
Despite Mrs. Potter's concerns, Sirius was still regretful that James should be so miserable. He wondered if it was really a good idea for him to be going to James's new home along with him. Martha had invited him along, mostly to make James feel more comfortable at his grandmothers. She thought that the transition would be easier if James had his best friend for company.  
  
Sirius and James had been friends for all of their lives, and Sirius was practically a member of the Potter family. Sirius spent as much time as possible with the Potters, as his own home life was less than desirable. Any decision involving James automatically affected Sirius as well.  
  
When Martha had announced that James would be staying with his Grandmother for the summer, Sirius had been almost as shocked as James. He would miss both of James's parents almost as much as James would.  
  
The sedan suddenly took a sharp corner and Sirius hit his head against the window. James laughed briefly and then once again turned to his uncharacteristic, gloomy state.   
  
James's whole family were wizards and witches, yet Sirius knew why Martha had opted for the Sedan, instead of simply traveling by floo powder. Such a major transition was hard to accomplish by simply stepping through a fireplace. Somehow the long car ride made it feel much more final.  
  
Eventually the car turned off the main road, onto a quaint little drive. Martha slowed down and consulted a sheet of paper, containing directions.  
  
The street was nice, covered in tall green trees, and blossoming tulips. The small neighborhood contrasted deeply with bustling London, where Sirius had grown up.  
  
"This is so far away from Sirius's house," James moaned.  
  
"Don't be silly dear," Martha responded with a fake smile, "your grandmother is connected to the Floo network, Sirius can stop by anytime."  
  
James rolled his eyes and hit his head against the window.  
  
"It's very nice here," Sirius intercepted, trying to ease a bit of the tension. "I bet we can find a good place to play Quidditch."  
  
James instantly perked up, the gleam returning to his dark eyes. "You think?"  
  
Martha spoke quickly, "Of course dears. Your grandmother has a nice backyard, and nobody can see through, it is shaded in trees. It's rather small of course, but I'm sure it will do."  
  
"It's probably too small then," James prophesized drearily.  
  
But before Sirius could assure him that they would find a place, the sedan pulled into the driveway of small yet cozy house. A small garden decorated the front lawn and several sparrows chirped and splashed in a wooden bird bath. The house was surrounded by a chipped white picket fence, and sunlight streamed down through the green grass.  
  
Sirius leaped out of the car boldly, slamming the door behind him.  
  
James got out next, a bit more reluctantly, and Martha hesitated, choking back a sob.  
  
"This is it boys, this is your new home James," she said shakily.  
  
Before Sirius could knock on the door, it swung open to reveal an elderly woman in a stiffly pressed grey dress. The collar was buttoned up to her neck, and she wore dark stockings and shiny black shoes. Her grey hair was pulled back into a tight bun. The woman did not smile, but neither did she frown, a stiff line remaining constant on her wrinkled face. She seemed immaculate and formal, completely alien to the cozy yard.  
  
She greeted them with a brief nod, and walked inside with out a word, assuming they would follow her.  
  
James quickly assumed a bored expression, as if he didn't care that he would be living with this woman for the rest of the summer and possibly every summer until he graduated from Hogwarts.  
  
The inside of the house, like the woman was cold and immaculate. None of the warmth which decorated the outside of the house was apparent on the inside. The furniture was sparse and strictly functional, no pictures or paintings were in sight on the walls.  
  
The woman sat down at a bare table, and folded her hands across her lap placidly. She did not speak until they were all seated in the uncomfortable wooden chairs.  
  
"Hello James. I am Cornelia Morgana Potter. You may call me Cornelia," the old woman said coldly. "I will have you know right away that I will not put up with nonsense of any sort. You are to be up at dawn. After you have eaten breakfast you will do your chores. Then you may play outside. At seven o'clock you shall attend your studies and at nine you will go to bed. Any questions?"  
  
"I go to bed at eleven in the summer," James protested.  
  
"Not in my house you won't," Cornelia insisted with a glare.  
  
"Don't worry James, we'll find a way," Sirius reassured him.  
  
"You will do no such thing," she fumed, turning her glare to Sirius.  
  
Finally, Martha took James aside and hugged him. "Cornelia is a harsh woman, but she is fair. If you obey her I am sure that the two of you will get along just fine."  
  
James squirmed.  
  
"I do love you darling. It breaks my heart to leave you here. . .but it is best. Good bye James. Be good," Martha whispered, planting a kiss on Sirius's cheek before she turned to leave. "I know we will keep in touch throughout the summer. While Cornelia will not tolerate my visiting to often, I have acquired other friends in the area."  
  
Before James had a chance to wonder what she meant, Martha Potter was gone.

* * *

The backyard was very nice, but too small to play Quidditch in. The boys tried to fly around a bit, but their was not enough room for the two of them, although tall trees shaded them from unfriendly muggle eyes.  
  
Just when the two boys were about to give up on ever playing Quidditch again, Sirius got a glimpse of what lay beyond a grove of tall Maples which separated Cornelia's backyard from that of the neighbors.  
  
"James!" Sirius called excitedly. "Take a look at this!"  
  
Within seconds of peering through the trees, James became every bit as excited as Sirius. The neighbor's yard was huge, a grassy Quidditch paradise, shaded by the same tall trees which covered Cornelia's backyard.  
  
"We can't possibly," James warned quietly. "What if we got caught? They might be muggles!"  
  
"Oh it's simple James. We can't get caught if they are not home. If they are muggles, they will have cars parked in front of their house. I can go check. If there are cars we will have to wait, but if they are none, we have found our new Quidditch field!"  
  
James waited anxiously, while Sirius sneaked around front to survey the area. Moments later, Sirius ran back.  
  
"The coast is clear James! Hurray! We got us a Quidditch field," Sirius shouted excitedly.  
  
Moments later, their worries abandoned, the two boys were soaring above Cornelia's neighbor's yard.   
  
"If we are going to be beaters next year James, we really should practice with the bludgers. We can play that game we made up last year! Hit a bludger back and forth until someone falls of his broom!"  
  
An hour later the boys were still in good spirits. The score was 2 to 3. Sirius had been knocked off twice, and James had the three falls.  
  
In an effort to even the score, James got in a particularly good hit, sending the bludger flying violently towards Sirius, who had to back up rapidly in time to swing at the flying ball. He hit it, but at the same time he crashed through a window of the neighbor's house and fell amid piles of broken glass onto the floor of somebody's living room.   
  
Unfortunately, that someone was standing right behind the fallen Sirius. That somebody was Lily Evans.  
  
James swooped in through the shattered window upon his broom, at the same time as a blond girl, and a pudgy boy rushed into the living room. But his attention was quickly diverted to the two intruders. He didn't even notice his friend laying injured on the floor.  
  
"Lily!" he shouted almost accusingly.  
  
Lily's eyes widened and then narrowed into a very hateful look. The girl which James assumed was Lily's sister Petunia screamed and looked as if she was about to faint. Just then, the bludger plummeted through the open window, headed straight towards the pudgy boy's head.   
  
"Vernon!" Petunia screamed. Vernon quickly grabbed Petunia and thrust her in front of himself, as if to protect himself from the blow, but the bludger missed the two of them by inches. Instead it was headed straight for Lily.   
  
James jumped in front of the speeding bludger and swung at it just in time, sending it crashing through one of Lily's living room walls.  
  
At that point the boy whom Petunia had called Vernon went into a dead faint and landed on the floor with a loud plop. Petunia continued to scream and ran out of the room as if her hair was on fire.  
  
The bludger crashed through the wall again, creating another gaping hole and was headed for James's head.  
  
James leaped up and wrestled the troublesome bludger to the ground, finally managing to restrain it. As soon as the bludger was taken care of, James turned to help Sirius, who was calmly dusting the glass off of his cloak when Lily came around from behind him and smacked him quite forcefully on the back of the head.  
  
James gulped and fell to his knees comically, rubbing his injured head with one palm. "Geez Lily! What did you do that for?"  
  
"You idiot! What are you doing here?" Lily screamed, her face almost as red as her hair.  
  
Just then, the sound of sirens began to fill the air and James squinted, puzzled at the strange wailing. "What is that?" he asked.   
  
"It's the police!" Lily rolled her eyes. "The muggle police! The neighbors must have called them after they heard the commotion. You guys are so dead!"  
  
"I am the neighbors, why would I call the police?" James asked, sounding a bit confused.  
  
"You are what?" Lily practically screamed.

* * *

It took hours to clear up the mess. Many Ministry of Magic officials had to come in and memory charms were performed on the muggle police, and the muggle neighbors who had called them. James was returned to his grandmother, and Sirius to his own parents.  
  
Petunia threw several fits, and Vernon left very quickly after he woke up, showing no signs that he wanted to come back again.  
  
But Lily's rage exceeded all of the other commotions. After telling James exactly how and when she wanted him to die, adding quite graphic details about the earlier, she slapped him twice and told Sirius simply to never come within the boundary of her property.  
  
Lily's parents were more understanding, although they were a bit angry at the two boys.

* * *

"I can't believe you're living next to Lily Evans," Sirius mused happily. James had convinced his grandmother to allow him to visit Sirius. It turned out that Cornelia was glad to be rid of him after the hyjinks he had pulled in his first week in her care.  
  
James grinned. "I don't think she likes it much."  
  
"Oh the fun we will have!" Sirius sighed. "Just think, a whole summer to pull pranks on her!"

* * *

"I'm sorry Petunia! I didn't know they were going to crash through the window! I didn't even know they lived anywhere near us!" Lily apologized.  
  
The blond girl was not appeased. She reached forward and slapped Lily hard across the face. "You are a liar!"  
  
Lily kicked her hard in the shins and Petunia grasped a lock of Lily's hair and pulled as hard as she could. Lily groped wildly and finally her hand met a picture frame and she pulled it up and hit it against the side of Petunia's head.  
  
While Petunia was assessing the damage to her head, Lily took advantage of the moment to push her sister out of her room.  
  
When she turned back she noticed the picture frame she had used. It was the one that James had given her at the end of the year. Inside was a picture of the two of them, covered in grime and blood, after working with the Whomping Willow. Lily rolled her eyes at the photo, and rubbed her head where Petunia had pulled her hair. Petunia's wrath could easily be attributed to James and the wild crash through Lily's house. Petunia blamed it on Lily.  
  
Since the incident, Vernon, Petunia's boyfriend, had made himself scarce. While he still went places with her, he refused to come within a hundred feet of her freak sister. Petunia blamed her freak sister as well.  
  
After Petunia left, Lily locked her door and collapsed onto her bed. She knew she was in for a terrible summer.


	24. Book 2 Chapter 2

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 2- Family Friends and Welcoming Environments**

* * *

Fortunately for Lily, James was not able to put his plans into action for several weeks. Cornelia had been scared off by Sirius's part in the Bludger incident and would not allow him to return to her house until James had finished a long list of chores. Cornelia was the one who ended up paying for the damage to the neighbor's home and she was none too happy about it.  
  
Still, Lily was in enough trouble as it was. Her parents, while not downright hostile, were a bit jumpy around her, and forbid her to have any friends over for the rest of the summer, by friends, meaning James and Sirius. When Lily insisted that the two boys were not her friends, and had not come by her invitation, her mother just shook her head and her father shrugged. They both had been favorably disposed towards James after he had rescued her at the end of the school year from death eaters, but were a bit annoyed with him after his latest stunt. Mostly, they just blamed Lily, and refused to believe that she had nothing to do with it.  
  
However it was not her parents who proved the real trouble. It was Petunia. Lily found herself subject to constant fits of anger, shouted insults and physical violence brought on by her older sister. Despite herself, Lily discovered that she was a bit afraid of Petunia, who would never let matters lie.  
  
More than she feared Petunia, she feared what misery James and Sirius would concoct and inflict upon her. She knew perfectly well what the terrible twosome was capable, and without Remus and Peter to balance them out, they could be downright dangerous, as they had proved when they had crashed through Lily's window.  
  
The damage to the window had been repaired, but there still remained two gigantic gaping holes in the dining room and living room walls. Every time Petunia walked by them, she went into another fit of despair, which ultimately would turn to anger, against her sister.  
  
Eventually Petunia's attacks subsided into her ordinary meanness and Lily spent as much time as possible in her room, reading her school books and writing letters to Brittany, Dora and Jackie. Although the girls had promised to keep in touch, Lily had not received one letter, though she had sent out quite a few.  
  
All in all she was not having the best summer of her life. Even her sleep was affected. She woke up every night, visions of death eaters and Voldemort fresh in her head. While she had been assured time and time again that she was safe now, by Dumbledore and her parents, Lily could not help seeing the worried glint in their eyes. Devin was still alive and free, and he had come after her once.  
  
The nightmares woke her every night, and afterwards she would lay awake and worry. James had explained to Dumbledore and their families how he had known the box was a port key. He had seen it in a dream. The whole concept seemed very fishy to Lily. For her dreams were just that, dreams. She wasn't sure if James had been telling the whole truth. Sometimes she wondered if he had some sort of inside information, or perhaps he was involved. Lily was much inclined to think this, she couldn't stand the thought of being in debt to him. James had saved her life, he was "a little hero" as her parents had proclaimed.  
  
Lily did not think James was "a little hero", but she did think he was "a little prick". Now that he was living next door to her, her worst fears were confirmed. This summer she would have to deal with not only Petunia, but also James and the rest of the Marauders.  
  
It was during one of her late night nightmares that James and Sirius decided to start their campaign to make her life miserable. Lily slept with her window open a crack, so it was easy for the two boys to pry it open enough to slip through several of Filibusters No Flame Indoor Firecrackers. Unfortunately for James and Sirius, the fuses which they had carefully tied together landed face down on the carpet and promptly went out.  
  
After a quick but furious fight over who would go in, James finally crawled through the window and landed as quietly as he could manage on Lily's bedroom floor. Carefully, he glanced at the sleeping redhead before bending over to light the fuse.  
  
Moments later, the room was filled with hissing shrieks and flying, non flammable magical balls. James did not have time to get back outside the window.  
  
Lily screamed and jumped out of bed in a panic, tearing a lamp off her nightstand and swinging it wildly at James's head.   
  
"Death Eaters!" Lily called desperately.  
  
James ducked, and the lamp barely missed him. Lily swung again and this time it collided with his head with a crash.   
  
"Lily!" Sirius called through the window, as Lily continued to beat James senseless with the lamp. "Calm down! It's just us!"  
  
Still, it took a while before the smoke cleared and Lily could see that it was indeed only the two boys.  
  
James, was lying unconscious on the floor with quite a welt spouting from his forehead.  
  
"Oh! I killed him!" Lily shrieked in horror. "I thought he was a death eater!"  
  
Sirius kicked James lightly and James let out a small moan and started to sit up. "Don't worry," Sirius said casually. "He's not dead."  
  
Before Lily had a chance to respond, Petunia was there. "LILY!" she screeched, and then dropped dead in her path at the sight of the two young wizards. It was obvious that Petunia was afraid of James and Sirius, and that was not unreasonable considering what the two boys had done in her presence. It was not unlikely that Petunia would not have lasting emotional damage from the horrors that James and Sirius had inflicted upon her.  
  
"ID Emmmmmm!" Petunia shrieked shrilly apparently at a loss for comprehensible words.   
  
The two boys giggled involuntarily. Petunia looked very interesting, to say the least. Her limp blond hair was done up in curlers and she was wearing a frilly pink nightgown. Worst of all her face was covered in green gunk, a facemask meant to clear up her acne. Finally Petunia screamed again and stormed out of the room in horror.  
  
"You look positively gorgeous, Lily, next to your witch of a sister!" James laughed, rubbing his bleeding head tentatively.  
  
"Ooh," Sirius grinned, dancing in circles around James, "Someone thinks his future wife is gorgeous! See, Lily, Jamesie is fine. No need to worry."  
  
Lily's pale face was turning red. She leapt up on her bed and glared down at the two boys, "I don't know what inspired you to sneak into my room at night and set of fireworks, but you two have already caused enough damage! You should be expelled, no arrested! If you don't leave right now I will call the police!"   
  
At that moment, Lily's parents, Rebecca and Tom burst into the room. "What is the commotion?" Rebecca asked furiously. Then she spotted James. "Oh my dear boy! Whatever happened?"  
  
She rushed over to him quickly, wrapping an arm around Lily's arch-enemy as Tom rubbed his eyes sleepily in the doorway, too tired to fully comprehend the situation. It didn't seem the least odd to him that the two boys who had wrecked their living room were currently residing in Lily's bedroom..  
  
"It was Lily" James admitted in a tearful (and fake) voice. "She attacked me with a lamp."  
  
"HE BROKE INTO MY ROOM AND SET OFF FIREWORKS!" Lily shrieked, astonished at James's daring and her mother's unfair reaction.  
  
"I only wanted to say good night," James explained sadly, between pretend sobs.   
  
Rebecca glared up at her youngest daughter. "Lily, I'm sure James had his reasons. That was no excuse for hurting him. Shame on you!" She turned towards James with a tender expression. "Poor little James, should I take you to the doctor?" she asked worriedly.  
  
So Lily was forced to watch helplessly as her mother coddled James. The hatred that Lily had previously felt towards him was currently being multiplied by 100.   
  
"Tom, go and call the boy's grandmother and ask her if she minds if I drive him to the hospital. And while you are at it, get Sirius a cup of hot chocolate," Rebecca ordered stonily.  
  
Tom complied, content to take his wife's orders. James however, was not so eager.  
  
"I'm fine Mrs. Evans!" he insisted. "I don't need to go to the hospital, I feel great now." James did not really want to be fussed over at a hospital. If his mother was notified she was sure to make an even greater fuss than Mrs. Evans.  
  
"Nonsense. Sit down my dear and let me stop the bleeding," Rebecca ignored his protests. "Lily! Clean up this mess!"  
  
Sick with the injustice of it all, Lily resigned herself reluctantly to vacuuming up the last of the debris left from the Filibusters fireworks. She muttered to herself angrily as her mother escorted the two boys to the living room for bandages and hot cocoa. Lily was stuck cleaning up the mess. Finally, when her room was once more fairly clean, Lily stomped into the living room, intent on giving her mother a piece of her mind. However, she stopped short, deciding that it was wiser to hold her tongue.  
  
James and Sirius were still there, being coddled. James was shedding fake tears of dismay, "I just don't know why she hates me so much, Mrs. Evans. I only wanted to be her friend!" at this point, James shot Lily a vindictive look and buried his head in Mrs. Evan's pillow, erupting into violently fake sobs.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I'm sure Lily will apologize to you," Rebecca assured him, shooting her daughter a significant look.  
  
"I will not!" Lily called as calmly as she could manage under the circumstances.  
  
Rebecca stood, with all the menacing power of a mother. "Lily Maroon Evans, I am warning you!"  
  
"Maroon?" James snorted from beneath his teary façade. "That's your middle name."  
  
"MOTHER!" Lily cried in embarrassment, she couldn't stand the idea of anyone knowing her middle name, especially James.  
  
"APOLOGIZE!" Rebecca screamed back, every bit as fierce as her little red haired daughter.  
  
Lily's mother pushed her close to James, applying slight pressure on her arm. "Fine!" Lily hissed. "James I am sorry…" she blurted out.  
  
Instantly, her mother released her, content that her daughter had done her duty.   
  
"I'm sorry that you are such a jerk!" Lily screamed and took off running before her mother could reprimand her further.  
  
James watched her in amazement. He had really got to her. "See, I told you she hates me," he confessed once more to her mother.  
  
Though he was forced to be driven to the hospital by Lily's parents, with Sirius in tow, James felt that the evening had been very profitable. He kept up his act while the doctors examined his head, and on the car ride back. James felt that a friendship with Lily's parents could prove quite a tool to use against her. So he acted as whiny and pathetic as he could, and Rebecca simply fawned over him. By the time the night was over, James was assured that he had earned himself an invite back into the Evans home anytime he wished. He was determined to use this to his advantage. Lily Evans was in for a horrible summer. 


	25. Book 2 Chapter 3

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 3- Summer Correspondence and Punching Targets**

* * *

James and Sirius had obtained permission to use Lily's backyard for Quidditch, as long as they didn't break any more windows, from Rebecca Evans, and the two were taking full advantage of it. Petunia, as a result, spent as much time as possible away from her house. She was absolutely mortified at the things that were going on around her. Petunia spent as much time as possible at Vernon's house, confiding to him about what a FREAK her sister was.  
  
Vernon was the only one who understood her, Petunia thought. No one else could truly understand the extent of her sister's weirdness, or the trauma inflicted upon her by her sister's lot.  
  
James and Sirius were worse than Lily, in Petunia's eyes. The two boys had quickly become her worst nightmare.  
  
Lily shared her attitude, at least in part. While Lily had disliked James strongly during her first year at Hogwarts, she was now sure that she hated him! Whenever she tried to confide in her mother, Rebecca only responded with a patronizing, "he saved your life, dear! James is a dear boy and he is welcome to spend as much time in our home as he wants."  
  
James was certainly taking advantage of this. He ate out of Lily's fridge, used her bathroom, played Quidditch in her back yard and even invited over Sirius to join him. James seemed to dislike his grandmothers house, and spent as much time at Lily's as possible. He and Sirius even spent the night in the living room for a few nights.  
  
Lily finally exploded after she caught James using her toothbrush. "This is the last straw!" Lily screamed. "Get out of my house, now!"  
  
James only laughed, "Make me."  
  
Lily ran into her room and proceeded to cry into her pillow. Finally, she was withdrawn from her grievous state by her owl, Lothlorien. He carried with him a letter, from Brittany. Lily tore open the letter eagerly. She had been waiting forever to hear from her friends and this was the first letter she had gotten.  
  
_Dear Lily,  
  
I hope you are having a good summer! Mine has been terribly boring so far. My grandmother hasn't let me write to you until now. She heard about what happened to you and thought you needed your rest. I know you are perfectly fine now, and I think it must have been awfully exciting! It was very heroic of James to have rescued you, Jackie thinks it was romantic as well. I wish we could visit each other, but my Grandmother will not allow it. Please write back right away and tell me everything that has happened!   
  
Love, Brittany_   
  
The letter put Lily in a much better mood, although the part about James was sickening. Lily set out right away to start her letter.   
  
It was three pages in length by the time she was finished. Lily signed her name and folded the letter carefully, placing it in an envelope. Just as she was about to seal it, Sirius Black threw open the door to her room.  
  
Sirius was wearing stylish clothing and his hair was perfectly groomed. Sometimes Lily was amazed at how different he was from James, yet the two were like brothers.  
  
"Oh Lily," Sirius called cheerfully. "James decided to umm… experiment with one of your muggle cooking thingies, and well… it's not good. You better come look!"  
  
"What happened Sirius?" she hissed, standing immediately to follow Sirius into the kitchen at a run.  
  
When she entered the kitchen, Lily had to laugh. James's always messy hair was standing straight up and his face and clothing were lined in black soot. Around him were the remnants of what appeared to be the Evans's toaster.  
  
"What did you do?" Lily asked finally, when she could finally stop her bout of giggling.  
  
James shrugged. "I was trying to make toast," he replied, as if blowing up a toaster was a commonplace event which could happen to anyone.  
  
While Lily coerced Sirius into helping her clean up the kitchen, James made use of Lily's bathroom to clean himself off. Then, reluctant to take part in the cleaning of the kitchen, he took it upon himself to explore Lily's bedroom.  
  
He found the letter straight away. After reading through Brittany's letter and rereading the parts about himself happily he unfolded Lily's reply, intending to make a few revisions.  
  
_Dear Brittany,  
  
My summer is going terribly! I cannot imagine anything worse could be happening to you. I miss you so much! You really should have written sooner.  
  
Petunia is being horrible, as usual, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. The nightmare started when James and Sirius crash landed through my living room window, complete with broomsticks and bludgers. They succeeded not only in ruining the living room, but breaking holes through two other walls as well! Petunia's boyfriend Vernon was there at the time, and he and Petunia will not let me forget it.   
  
Worst of all, James is living with his Grandmother, who happens to live next door to me! So the idiot himself has been at my house the entire summer. My mom loves him and makes me clean up after him! He stinks up the bathroom, eats all of our food and even uses my toothbrush! Sirius is also here as well, although he is not quite so bad as James. Still, two Marauders are more annoying than one.  
  
About what you said in your letter, James was not acting heroically. He probably just stumbled on the port key by mistake and made up all of that stuff about dreams…_  
  
Eventually, James got tired of reading the long letter, and crumpled it up in a ball, tossing it into the trash can. He knew it was up to him to write a reply. Lily obviously was in denial about him, James knew that she could not help but be in awe of his amazing good looks and talents.  
  
So, he started on his own version of Lily's letter, adopting his own unique style.  
  
_To Brittany Jacobs,  
  
I am very busy or I would write you a longer letter. The reason I am busy is because James Potter suddenly moved in next door. He is so incredibly cool and I wish that I was as cool as him. You should really consider dating him or his friend Sirius. You are right, they are both very brave, but I don't know about romantic, that is a girly thing. Anyway I am so happy to have James in my house that I do not think you should write back to me because I am too busy fantasizing about him. Still, I know he would never stoop to my level. Currently I am off snogging my sister's ugly fat boyfriend Vernon, just to practice for James (even though he is too cool for me).   
  
From Lily Evans_  
  
James sighed contentedly, assured that his letter was a great improvement. "Lily will thank me for this someday," he muttered under his breath while sealing the envelope which Lily had already addressed.  
  
Just then, Lily walked in. "What are you doing, James?" she asked in a cold voice.  
  
"Oh, just mailing your letter," James responded smoothly.  
  
Lily grabbed the letter out of his hands, glaring at him suspiciously. She examined the envelope and after noting that it was the one she had addressed, handed it to Lothlorien herself reluctantly.  
  
"Get out of my room!" she shouted, not for the first or last time.  
  
James grinned blowing her a fake kiss and dashed out of the room cheerfully. In James's mind, he had done his share of charity for the week. Revising Lily's letter was really a nice thing to do, or so he told himself.  
  
Later, when he shared the incident with Sirius, James was surprised at Sirius's laughter.  
  
"What?" James asked innocently. "I did do it to help her?"  
  
"James, my man," Sirius grinned, slapping his friend on the back, "You have a strange way of helping."  
  
The next few weeks were not nearly as much fun for James. Sirius's mother had appeared in person in Cornelia's fireplace, and ordered him to come home. James spent most of his time moping around the Evan's house. His grandmother was truly a formidable witch, and he tried his best to avoid her.   
  
Without Sirius, even the prospect of annoying Lily had lost some of it's fun. Finally, left her alone altogether, resigning himself to living under the house of his strict Grandmother.   
  
One day, Lily approached James furiously, having received a very strange reply from Brittany.  
  
_Dear Lily,  
  
I don't know if you actually wrote a letter in reply to my last one, but I didn't get it. The reply I got was written as if it was from you, but it obviously wasn't. First clue, you seemed to be praising James. Second clue, it just didn't sound like you. And third, it was most definitely not in your handwriting. Just to check I am going to enclose a copy of the letter I received. Is it true that James is living next door to you? If it is, you might want to check for tampering. Anyway, I instructed my owl to make sure that YOU, and no one else, get this, so write back right away!  
  
Love from Brittany! XOXO_  
  
"What is this about?" Lily screeched after shoving the letter towards James. "You re-wrote my letter!"  
  
James shrugged modestly. "Don't thank me, it was just one of my many selfless acts."  
  
Lily stepped forward and gave James a shove. James staggered back and his eyes widened in mock surprise.  
  
"I thought you would be pleased! Your letter was horribly written. I just made some simple corrections," James explained calmly.  
  
"You jerk!" Lily yelled. "I have put up with you in my house for too long. If you come back again I promise that you will be sorry!"  
  
"Sorry that you are such a loser, who can't write letters?" James asked innocently.  
  
Lily let out a frustrated shriek and ran off without further comment, lost for words. She ran down the street until she could calm herself enough to stop her feet. Letting out another scream, Lily took a swing at a brick wall and realized a few moments later that such a move was not really a very good idea.  
  
She screamed again upon impact, this time not out of frustration, but out of pain. Shooting stabs ran up her arm and Lily stared in shock at her mangled fist. She managed to calm herself when she flexed and saw that nothing was broken, though it was badly scraped, and summoned the strength to walk calmly back to her house to bandage her hand.  
  
James was sitting on her couch when she walked in the door. Lily avoided his gaze and tried her best to hide her injured hand from his view. The thought of his ridicule was too much to bear.  
  
Holding her breath, Lily walked past him as subtly as she could. When she made it to the bathroom she gasped in pain, trying to hold back the tears. The bones were not broken, but her entire fist ached horribly and the skin was raw and painful.  
  
James noticed something, he was not stupid, for all that he pretended to be. He waited a few moments, and then went after her, wanting to surprise her. James thought of a good taunt and then threw open the door.  
  
"Gonna make me pay?" he asked cheerfully. "It'll take more than a threat…" James trailed off suddenly, noticing the blood.  
  
James's mouth dropped and before Lily could retort, he was at her side. The transition was automatic, James did not even realize how quickly he reverted to protective mode.  
  
"Lily," he gasped. "What happened?" James put an arm around her shoulder and attempted to examine her hand.  
  
Shivering and looking faintly sick Lily shoved James away violently. "Go away!"  
  
James ignored her and proceeded to rummage through her cabinets until he managed to surface a first aid kit. Lily tried to fight him off, but James forcibly rinsed the blood off of her hand, checked for broken bones and bandaged it.  
  
Lily examined the bandage skeptically. It was more a mass of wadded up bandages with medical tape in random places than anything else, and it looked very awkward. James was obviously not an expert bandager.  
  
"What did you do, anyway?" James asked in a superior voice.  
  
"Nothing," Lily insisted hastily.  
  
"That doesn't look like nothing," James replied in a singsong voice.  
  
"Leave me alone! I said nothing," Lily hissed.  
  
That ended the conversation. Yet later, when Lily's mother rewrapped her wound, Lily was forced to confess the source of her injury. Rebecca Evans was furious.  
  
"I understand that James annoys you Lily, but you must learn to control yourself. This was not his fault, it was your own," Her mother chided, oblivious to her daughter's protests.  
  
For the next few weeks, much to James's disappointment, Lily retreated to her room. No amount of James's pleading could allow Lily's mother to allow him access. Still, James found little ways to annoy her, switching her shampoo with syrup, hiding her various belongings, and snapping pictures of her at every possible moment with a cheap muggle camera and later begging her to autograph them, claiming to be selling photos of the weirdest person on Earth. James did in actuality find buyers, Peter was sending James money by owl in exchange for shots of Lily. The pudgiest Marauder seemed to have developed a crush on Lily.  
  
Just when Lily felt she could take it no longer, and James was beginning to get bored of torturing Lily, a letter arrived at for James, from Sirius.  
  
_Jamesie-  
  
The annual Black family reunion is taking place next week. I do not know if I can withstand another one alone. Assistance is requested. Of course, my mother cannot know that you plan to come, she would never allow it. You must show up unexpected and at the last moment, together we can revenge ourselves on the fouler aspects of my family. Don't write back, just show up at my house at seven AM on the third of August.  
  
-Sirius Black_


	26. Book 2 Chapter 4

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 4- Old Enemies and New Enemies**

* * *

James had never felt entirely comfortable at Sirius's house, under the disapproving gaze of Sirius's mother, but since the incident when he had rescued Lily from Devin Goyle, Sirius's mother had been downright hostile towards him. The prospect of facing Sirius's entire family at once was quite unpleasant. Yet James was not one to let his best friend down, and he could no more give up a chance to harass Sirius's fouler relatives than he could make his messy hair lie flat against his head.   
  
As unattractive as the offer seemed, James was more than inclined to take it. The thought of not going never even crossed his mind.   
  
So, on the appointed day, James stood in front of his Grandmother's fireplace, dressed in his best and only suit for some reason he could not fathom. Some part of James knew that this reunion would be a big deal, and in an attempt to minimize the animosity directed at him, James unconsciously made efforts to make himself appear well groomed.  
  
Taking a deep breath, James threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace and spoke clearly, "Sirius's house."  
  
James felt as if he were being pulled into the fireplace by his navel. When he was younger, he used to love traveling by Floo Powder, finding it very exciting. James was quite used to it by now, but he still enjoyed the few moments of weightlessness.  
  
He coughed and brushed the soot off himself before looking up to find himself in Sirius's living room, surrounded by more people than he could count. James smiled around amiably, ignoring the hateful stares directed at him.  
  
Unfortunately, Sirius was no where in sight and James was left to wander around purposefully, trying to ignore many familiar and hostile faces. Fortunately, James was rescued from the whispers of persecution by a familiar face belonging to one Nymphadora Tonks.  
  
Nymphadora was one of Sirius's many cousins, she was the one cousin who James found remotely pleasant. In reality, she was his second cousin, the daughter of his first cousin Andromeda, but the difference did not matter to Sirius. Nymphadora was a year younger than James and Sirius, slightly tall for her age, good natured and clumsy. James had always been fascinated by her, she had the strange ability to alter her appearance at will.   
  
Today, her eyes were a brilliant shade of purple and her hair was a shocking shade of orange. Her ordinarily perfect complexion was littered with freckles and her nose was shorter than usual. Still, James recognized Nymphadora right away from the way she carried herself. Also he was quite sure that no one else in Sirius's family would be caught dead with orange hair.  
  
"Oh, James!" Nymphadora shrieked, throwing her skinny arms around him happily, although they had only met a few times before. "I'm so happy you are here!"  
  
James hugged back hesitantly, a bit embarrassed at her vigor.   
  
"Are you looking for Sirius?" Nymphadora asked, before James had a chance to respond. "I think he is being interrogated by the Crabbes. Everyone is terribly put out with you because of what you did to Devin. Personally I think he needs to be taught a lesson. But we mustn't talk about that, at least not here. You are not in any real danger I do not think. No one would so much as raise a wand against you in the Black house, it would mortify Sirius's mother."  
  
James followed Nymphadora meekly as she led him over to where Sirius was standing with his head down, being lectured by an intimidating man. Nymphadora motioned for James to stop and the two stood in the background listening.  
  
"Certainly, Sirius, you have the potential to go far. You come from a most noble house and look at the many fine wizards and witches which share your bloodline," The tall dark man who Nymphadora said was Geoffrey Crabbe was saying sternly. "You must watch the company you keep. That Potter boy is going nowhere and many people would be disappointed if you went down with him."  
  
At that point, Nymphadora could restrain James no longer and he pushed in front of her, smiling up at Geoffrey Crabbe and his family. "I must say, I quite agree with you old chap," James spoke mockingly. "I would hate for Sirius to fall in with the wrong crowd."  
  
Sirius grinned ecstatically and nodded his head. "James is right, we'll go and work on that together… right now!"  
  
Geoffrey Crabbe and his wife both looked distinctly offended and their son, who James recognized from school took a menacing step forward. James vaguely recalled that his name was Oliver.  
  
More than ready for a chance to get away, Sirius grabbed both James and Nymphadora and took off in the opposite direction before any of the Crabbe's had a chance to act. They were an intimidating bunch, both in social stature and in cruelty.  
  
The three did not get far before they ran into Lucius Malfoy. Sirius sighed miserably. James was perhaps one of the only people (outside of Sirius's family) who knew that Sirius and Lucius were cousins. Sirius was related to a whole slew of horrible people, the Crabbes, the Goyles, the Lestranges and the Malfoys were just a few.  
  
Lucius clucked his tongue. "Well, well, well… if it isn't the two biggest losers at Hogwarts. I had been trying to decide for a while, who in the school was truly the biggest loser. At first I had considered Severus, but mudblood lovers are worse. I am ashamed to call you family, what with the company you keep."  
  
Sirius smiled back winningly. "At least we are both passing transfiguration without outside help," he retorted.  
  
It was common knowledge that Lucius had failed that class, but his father had bought off people at the Ministry of Magic to give him a special exception.  
  
Lucius snarled but ignored Sirius, turning instead to James, "It seems, that you have been meddling in other people's affairs. I you know what is good for you I suggest you stay out of things from now on. The little mudblood deserved what she would have got."  
  
James stepped forward menacingly with Sirius right beside him.  
  
At that moment, a dark haired little girl with pale skin and brilliantly red lips sidled up to Lucius. Her eyes roamed back and forth between James and Sirius and finally landed on Sirius.  
  
"Let's drop the matter, shall we," she crooned persuasively. "It's hardly a surprise that Sirius and his friends are of questionable character. A bad egg may arise from even the finest of hens."  
  
Sirius grimaced and Nymphadora stepped forward.  
  
"Hello Bellatrix, and goodbye. Can't you see you are not wanted here?" Nymphadora exclaimed boldly, pulling both James and Sirius away by their arms.  
  
Malfoy's face flamed an angry red but Bellatrix stayed calm, staring at Nymphadora silently as the three made haste towards Sirius's room. James recalled meeting Bellatrix Lestrange in the past. Initially she had been sugary sweet towards James, but he had not been fooled by this. Sirius had told James many times about Bellatrix's manipulative nature, and James found it best to stay away from the sly little minx. Though James was itching for the opportunity to wreak havoc on the nastier aspects of Sirius's bloodline, the odds against the Marauding duo were overwhelming.  
  
Just as James, Sirius and Nymphadora were about to make their escape they ran into the last person they wanted to see, Sirius's mother.  
  
She stood before them, a small but intimidating figure, clad in a solemn black dress and tall stiletto heels. Her hair was pulled up in a tight, no nonsense bun which reminded James of his own Grandmother. Both women shared the same harsh frown lines and sharp features, but while James's grandmother was merely strict, Sirius's mother was cruel. Though he was almost ashamed to say it aloud, James was sure that she was pure evil.   
  
"Where do you think you are going?" Mrs. Black whispered frigidly.  
  
Her eyes fell on James and a look of utter disgust came over her drawn features. She raised an eyebrow and turned to Sirius.  
  
"What is this abomination doing in my house? Certainly you are aware of his part in your dear cousin Goyle's humiliation!" Sirius ducked but his mother grabbed him by his ear. "How dare you invite that muggle loving scoundrel good for nothing sissy into my home?"   
  
She pushed the speechless Sirius away violently and turned to James with a menacing stare.  
  
"I will let you stay, but only to spare myself the indignity of throwing you out of the door in front of my guests," Mrs. Black growled. "The three of you get back into the parlor, I will not tolerate impoliteness towards your relatives."  
  
Sirius grabbed his friends and eagerly darted out of his mother's line of vision.  
  
James laughed. "I really ticked her off with that whole saving Lily from Devin thing, huh?"  
  
"Don't get me started," Sirius rolled his eyes. "She threatened to wipe my name from the Black Family Tapestry and refused to feed me for a week."  
  
Sirius laughed at James's bewildered expression. "What, do you think that's something unusual? You should know my mum better than that by now. I can survive just fine even without her help."  
  
Behind him, James heard a menacing growl. He ignored it until Nymphadora tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him not to turn around. Of course, James could not resist looking.  
  
When he turned, James came face to face with someone he hadn't seen for quite some time. Devin Goyle. Devin did not speak, but took a slow step forward, towering over James and Sirius. Beside him, another boy whom James did not recognize let out a deep chuckle.  
  
James quavered under Devin's gaze and inadvertently took a step backwards. Sirius jumped in front of James looked about to say something unpleasant, when Nymphadora bounded forward, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process.   
  
"Why hello Devin! I see you have already met James. Since we have all been introduced, I suppose it is time for us to leave!" Nymphadora insisted hastily, trying to buffer the situation. James thought that she played the role of the buffer fairly often with a family like hers.  
  
Still, James had too much in him to allow himself to be buffered when it came to a confrontation such as this. The thought that Devin Goyle, who had attempted murder, walked free ate at him all of the time. All of his life James had had faith in the Ministry of Magic to take care of criminals, and to make the magical world a safe place. His faith had been very quickly dispelled after the way that the incident had gone unresolved.  
  
"Stand aside Tonks," James insisted harshly but with obvious affection. "I think I can fight my own battles." He stepped forward this time with purpose, refusing to show weakness to the older boy.  
  
Devin wrinkled his forehead. "If this were a battlefield you would be dead. It is lucky for you that we are in the Black home. I would not sully the family name simply for vermin like you. I assure you that you will be dealt with."  
  
James clenched his fists and managed to control his anger, but Sirius leapt forward with his wand out.  
  
"Deal with this! Verminexosis!" He shouted.  
  
James and Nymphadora both flinched at the nasty spell Sirius had sent towards his own cousin. Sirius had always had a tendency to overdo things.  
  
Devin fell to the ground quickly, his body convulsing quickly. He began to retch and choke, and in moments pulled a small rodent out of his throat.   
  
"Quick, let's get out of here!" James called, grasping Sirius's robes.  
  
Devin's companion quickly stepped forward and uttered a spell. Sirius dodged it and so did James. Nymphadora got hit straight on and her eyes promptly glued themselves shut.  
  
Nymphadora screamed and brought her hands to her eyes, frantically trying to pry them open. "I'm blind! I'm blind!" Hysterically she began to run around in circles.  
  
She ran smack into Severus Snape who fell to the ground with a thump where he began to cry pathetically.  
  
James ran to Nymphadora's side, the latter of whom had just ran headfirst into a wall, and Sirius ran about trying to hide as his mother approached with little Bellatrix Lestrange at her side.  
  
Nearby a haggard looking house elf shook his head and muttered spitefully under his breath, "dratted nasty little traitors, bringing shame on the house of my dear mistress!"  
  
Despite Sirius's attempts to hide, his mother found him and pulled him up violently by the collar, cutting off his air supply so Sirius gasped and coughed. "That is about enough young man! I want you out of my house! Out! And take your dirty mudblood loving friend with you!" she screeched. "If the two of you are not gone in thirty seconds I will take no responsibility to what may happen to you under this roof!"  
  
Sirius quickly grabbed James and the two boys dragged the struggling Nymphadora to the fireplace, where Floo powder was quickly taken advantage of.  
  
Moments later the three breathless children appeared in Cornelia Morgana Potter's sitting room, where she was enjoying her afternoon cup of tea.  
  
James's rigid grandmother screamed with alarm and dropped her teacup where it shattered on the hardwood floor.  
  
Nymphadora screamed in return and James hurriedly explained the situation to his grandmother while Sirius tried to quiet his cousin.  
  
As strict as Cornelia Potter was, she was a sensible woman. She had no wish to allow this screaming witch to disrupt her daily life. So she quickly and flawlessly delivered the counter curse and sent Sirius and Nymphadora on their way. Since neither of them were in a fit state to return to the Black manor, James escorted them next door to the Evans home.  
  
Lily's mother cooked and cared for the duo until they found it suitable to return home. During this time, Lily confined herself to her room, emerging only when required and not speaking to either Sirius or Nymphadora at all.  
  
Nymphadora tried several times to make conversation with Lily, and to befriend her, but Lily had already condemned Nymphadora as a friend of James. Lily was sure that no friend of James could be worth knowing. Even Sirius, who she normally tolerated, found that Lily was not willing to acknowledge his presence.   
  
Lily herself was having a most miserable summer and was very anxious for the school year to start, where she would at least have her friends for allies. 


	27. Book 2 Chapter 5

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 5- Feuds and Friendships**

* * *

The summer passed slowly for James. His mother visited twice, and oddly enough seemed to be on very friendly terms with Mrs. Evans. The two loved to talk about their children and compare their two very different lives. Of course, James loved seeing his mother, but was disappointed that his father could not come as well. He knew that the reason was his own safety, but James had always been close with his father, and after John's death he longed for his presence.  
  
Still, rarely did James show any emotion regarding his family. On the occasions that he did, Sirius was quick to change the subject. Somehow, between playing variations of Quidditch in Lily's backyard and making a nuisance of himself, James was able to keep such painful subjects off of his mind.   
  
By the end of the summer, James had practically abandoned his plot to drive Lily insane. He had found a new and better target: Petunia's boyfriend Vernon.  
  
Petunia had been forced to finally tell Vernon about her freak sister Lily. Vernon had stayed away from the Evan's home for most of the summer, but by August he began to return occasionally, the memory of his past horrors had begun to fade somewhat in his mind.  
  
James let him build up his confidence for a while, leaving him alone for the first few times Vernon visited, letting work up to a level of confidence which would prove disastrous when James decided to strike.  
  
Naturally, James involved Sirius in this plot. Sirius had been beaten and confined to his room with no food for three days, so when he finally obtained permission to spend times with at Cornelia's, Sirius nearly exhausted James's food supply. Cornelia Potter only tolerated this because she noticed the bruises and marks on Sirius's face and though she was strict she did have a small bit of human compassion.  
  
In return to Cornelia's newfound tolerance, Sirius used all of the charm which he had in him, which was a considerable amount. For one thing, Sirius was a very good looking boy, and when he chose he could be a very charismatic person. Still, James's grandmother was not the most friendly of people. Allowing Sirius to stay in her home was about as much as she could manage.  
  
It was all that Sirius and James needed. It gave them plenty of time to plot and plan the things they would do to Vernon. It all came down to one big event. They both knew that they would only have one big chance to humiliate him, and set the date for the last day of summer. James figured that it was a good idea to wait until just before they left for Hogwarts, in case there were consequences.  
  
It was decided that James would be the one to do the actual magic, as Sirius had already received an official warning for cursing Devin Goyle. Still, neither boy was terribly worried. Though the letter had threatened, Sirius was sure that he would never be expelled from Hogwarts for something so trivial.   
  
"Everyone uses magic once and a while. Besides, if they actually expelled students just for using magic over the summer, we'd both be in Azkaban for all of the stuff we have done during school!" Sirius said with a laugh.  
  
James was a bit more cautious, but he too doubted that either boy would actually be expelled for their more interesting summer activities.  
  
Vernon did appear at the appointed date, and Sirius did a quick happy dance before he and James headed over to the Evans's house.  
  
James did not knock, but rather walked in confidently. He had spent a lot of time at Lily's over the summer, and her parents still let him do whatever he wanted. Lily on the other hand was downright venomous towards him, and Petunia was terrified of all things magic.  
  
It so happened that James and Sirius walked in at the exact moment that Petunia was yelling at her younger sister. James had never seen Lily so complacent and non aggressive. She looked almost intimidated.  
  
"Leave me alone Petunia," she muttered quietly. "I don't want to have anything to do with Vernon. Do you honestly think I am going to try and get on his nerves?"  
  
"Whatever, Freak! If you try anything you are dead. Get it?" Petunia gave Lily a good hard shove as to prove her point, forcing Lily to bang her head against the wall.  
  
Lily grimaced and nodded, rubbing her head and wincing. Then both she and Petunia noticed the two boys.  
  
Petunia's face went white and she slowly backed out of the room, her eyes darted from James to Sirius nervously.   
  
Lily jumped up with alacrity, her response the opposite of her sister's. Lily glared at the two boys as if challenging them to comment on her momentary weakness. When neither did she started to speak and then changed her mind and stormed off to the privacy of her room where even James did not dare violate after seeing a few examples of Lily's temper.  
  
Instead, he and Sirius made their way to the kitchen, where they would begin their preparations.   
  
"The best part about this," James said for the thousandth time, "is that it will get Vernon and Petunia, but Lily will get it in the bargain. It is her house after all."  
  
"Petunia will act worse towards her too," Sirius commented quietly ,"I never saw Lily answer to anyone the way she just did to Petunia."  
  
James shrugged uncomfortably, trying his hardest not to feel pity for Lily Evans, who was his enemy. The plan had to go off as expected.  
  
They waited until Petunia and Vernon had made themselves comfortable in the living room. Just when they were engaged in some heavy lip lock, James cast his spell and Vernon began slowly levitating off the ground. It was hard work, a lot harder than levitating the feathers and scrolls that they had practiced with in Charms class. First of all, Vernon weighed a whole lot more, second he was squirming around, and once he realized something was wrong he began to flail wildly.  
  
Petunia shrieked as Vernon began to rise towards the ceiling. Lily came running into the room, her fingers pressed against her cheeks in shock. Mrs. and Mr. Evans were soon to follow. James maintained eye contact and levitated Vernon silently as Sirius convulsed with uncontrolled laughter.  
  
Just when everyone had entered the room, James took the prank a step forward and smoothly muttered the spell to make Vernon's pants drop, showing off his slightly dingy tighty- whites and pale flabby flesh.  
  
Lily gasped and ran over to James, pulling the wand from James's hand with a quick motion. Unfortunately, this quickly broke the spell and Vernon plummeted to the ground, landing with a plop on the sofa, where he laid motionless, sprawled out in an awkward position.   
  
"Oh Vernon darling!" Petunia cried and ran to him.   
  
Mrs. Evans hurried in and examined the large boy. "It's all right, he's just fainted."  
  
Mr. Evans looked faintly sick and Petunia was in tears on the floor, crying out senseless remarks about her 'sweety pumpkin Verny kins'.  
  
"James! Why did you do that? You hurt him!" Lily hissed angrily.  
  
"I wasn't going to drop him! If you hadn't pulled my wand away he would have landed safely," James responded.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't try to blame this on me!"  
  
They both stopped arguing when Vernon shot up like a cannon, suddenly very much awake. He immediately stood and stumbled towards Lily, his face flushed and red with exertion. "You did this! You freak!" he shouted raising a fist.  
  
James leapt up with a start. "It was me!" He shouted boldly, dashing between Vernon and Lily.  
  
Vernon's red face turned an alarming shade of purple. "You…" he grunted stupidly, switching directions and plummeting towards James.  
  
However, Vernon had no chance of catching him. James was much smaller than his pursuer, but he was also much faster. James took off like a whip out the front door, and by the time Vernon reached the front hall he was already winded. Sirius did not even have to run for it, he simply waltzed right out the door, stopping to nod pleasantly to the gasping muggle. "Nice weather, isn't it?" Sirius asked with a laugh, before going to join James.  
  
After a few more short minutes, Vernon left the house without so much as a word of goodbye to Petunia.  
  
That night, Mrs. Evans had a chat with Cornelia Potter, and Cornelia had a little chat with James while Mr. Evans tried in vain to repair the cracked sofa. Lily and Petunia had a confrontation of a different sort.  
  
Petunia yelled and screamed, Lily screamed back, though she assumed the defensive mode. Eventually it escalated and Petunia left in a huff, thinking of a way to get her revenge.  
  
When Lily was asleep, Petunia went into her room and took her wrath out carefully on the sleeping form.  
  
Lily awoke the next morning with a pair of scissors by her pillow, and sheets covered in long red strands of hair. She screamed so loud that it woke the neighbors, and then screamed again when she glanced in her mirror. To say that she was a mess would be an understatement. Lily had chunks of hair missing to the scalp, and other long pieces left intact. There were obvious bald spots on her upper head and three inch spikes sticking out at odd angles.  
  
She ran downstairs to find Petunia smirking at her at the kitchen table. "I thought you might like to try out a new look for your freak school!" she cackled.  
  
Mrs. Evans was horrified and exchanged angry words with Petunia, insisting that the previous night's incident was not Lily's fault. However, Mrs. Evans ultimately declared that she would deal with Petunia later, opting instead to help Lily pin up her remaining locks as best she could in the limited time before they would leave for Hogwarts.  
  
"I don't have time to cut it, or I would, just to even it all out. We have to leave for the station in less than an hour and you are still not completely packed!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed.  
  
Lily burst into tears several times that morning, and when she arrived at the train station she was conspicuously wearing a brown scarf over her hair and her face was red and puffy.  
  
At least this time around, Lily had no trouble getting through the barrier of 9 and ¾. Jackie met her promptly on the other side and Lily smiled, despite her woes, at the sunny familiar face.  
  
"Lily darling!" Jackie exclaimed and air kissed Lily dramatically. "How was your summer?"  
  
"Horrible," Lily admitted truthfully.  
  
Jackie winced. "I'm so sorry. I hate to comment, but why are you wearing a scarf on your head? Is it some strange third world fashion which I have yet to hear about?"  
  
Lily shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
Looking a bit offended, Jackie mouthed the word 'okay' and beckoned for Lily to follow her to a compartment she had saved.  
  
Brittany and Dora were already there when Lily arrived. Brittany leapt out of her seat and enveloped Lily in a violent embrace, almost knocking Lily off of her feet. Dora was much quieter in greeting her friend but Lily insisted on a hug.   
  
The girls giggled and gossiped for so long that they didn't even realize that the train had already left the station.

* * *

In a compartment two cars down, five people of a different sort congregated. James and Sirius occupied one bench, Remus and Peter the other. The four were relating tales of summer mishaps and adventures. James's and Sirius's were much the same, and involved Lily more than anyone else. Remus had a few tales of magical mischief, but kept mostly quiet and Peter went on for much too long about how many times his clumsiness had gotten him into trouble at home.  
  
The fifth person had stories as well, loads of them, and all of the Marauders were becoming partial to this person's stories, which were somewhat a mix of the others. The fifth person was Sirius's cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. Nymphadora was starting her first year at Hogwarts, and was so excited that she had taken to pacing the corridors. Finally, the Marauders had coerced her into staying in their compartment to share summer hyjinks.  
  
Nymphadora was in the middle of a particularly good story when the door to the compartment swung open and a certain dark haired new student walked in.  
  
Sirius stood and glared menacingly. "Bellatrix," he greeted coldly.  
  
Bellatrix paused, smiled and surveyed her surroundings. After a moment she adopted a fake looking smile and placed an arm in mock affection on her male cousin's arm. "Why, hello Sirius! It's wonderful to see a familiar face. And Nymphadora too! What a lovely coincidence."  
  
Nymphadora stood defiantly. "Cut the bullshit Bellatrix. What do you want?"  
  
Bellatrix's smile dropped instantly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"   
  
Without another word, Bellatrix disappeared from the chamber. Nymphadora paced uneasily, her story abandoned.   
  
A few minutes later Nymphadora took off in the direction which Bellatrix had taken, obviously curious where her cousin was going.  
  
James and Sirius exchanged looks and hesitantly followed.  
  
James found Nymphadora just as she was entering the compartment where Lily and her friends were sitting.  
  
Bellatrix was sitting cozily between Lily and Brittany, gossiping happily towards Lily.  
  
"I'm ever so nervous," James heard Bellatrix mutter in a strange and giddy tone. "I don't know anyone at Hogwarts at all!" Then, spotting Nymphadora and the others she paused, "except my cousins. Here they are, Nymphadora and Sirius!"  
  
Nymphadora approached Bellatrix angrily, pulling the small girl up by her shirt collar. "Leave them alone Bellatrix, I know you are up to something!"  
  
Lily jumped up defensively. "Hey! You leave her alone!"  
  
Nymphadora turned towards Lily, dropping Bellatrix, who fell to the ground whimpering pathetically. "This doesn't involve you. If you knew my cousin…"  
  
"Just because she is your cousin doesn't give you the right to bully her!" Lily screeched, losing her temper.   
  
"Stay out of it!" Nymphadora shouted, turning back to Bellatrix, and pulling her violently to her feet.  
  
Lily lifted her wand. "I'm warning you! I will curse you if you lay another hand on her! She did nothing to you!"  
  
Before Lily could utter a spell, Nymphadora's fist collided with Lily's face. Lily reeled backward and fell to the ground dramatically, blood spurting from her nose.  
  
Bellatrix broke into a smile for an instant before retaining her timid stance. Only Jackie caught this, and she studied the newcomer carefully, as Brittany and Dora rushed to comfort Lily.  
  
Realizing that violence towards Bellatrix would not help the situation, Nymphadora simply made a threatening gesture towards her cousin before retreating quickly from the compartment.  
  
Sirius did not move but only stood back watching Bellatrix suspiciously, but James leapt up and went to Lily's side. Brittany, in an effort to stop the blood, pulled off Lily's scarf.  
  
"Lily! Your hair!" Brittany screamed.  
  
Dora echoed this and James just dropped his jaw.  
  
Trying to cover her hair with one hand, and holding her nose with the other Lily burst into tears. Brittany and Dora tried desperately to comfort her and James simply sat in puzzlement. He could find no possible explanation for Lily's drastic and sudden change of hair style. After assuring himself that Lily was fine, despite the damage inflicted by Nymphadora, James allowed himself to be ushered out by Brittany.  
  
James went back to the Marauder's compartment, still wondering what exactly had just happened. 


	28. Book 2 Chapter 6

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 6- Songs and Lunatics**

* * *

When the train finally came to a stop, and all students were in their uniforms, James felt a wave of excitement surge through his body. He was home.  
  
Sirius however, was not so easily appeased. As soon as he exited the train he began to beg and barter with Ogg, the Hogwarts Caretaker. Sirius desperately wanted to be allowed to accompany the first years across the lake. He and Nymphadora had concocted a plan to tip Bellatrix's boat.  
  
"For the last time," Ogg finally yelled impatiently, "only first years get to make the trip across the lake! You have to go with the rest of the returners."  
  
Sirius finally stomped up and down and stuck out his tongue. Then he collapsed dramatically on the ground. "You are killing me Ogg! You are killing me! It will all be your fault when I die. I must… travel across the lake. I will kill myself… I'll do it. That is a promise."  
  
James rolled his eyes as Sirius proceeded to roll around on the ground with his hands affixed to his throat as if to strangle himself. He was making loud over exaggerated gagging sounds and many of the first years looked downright terrified of him.  
  
"Who is that crazy boy?" One first year girl asked James timidly, pointing towards Sirius.  
  
"Him? Oh he's a legend around here. His name is Sirius Black. They say that he ate a whole owl once, alive. Yup, he traded his own kidney for a new broomstick. Crazy as they come old Sirius Black. He chopped off some red head's hair back on the train. But his favorite hobby is drowning first years in the Lake. That's why he's so eager to get on a boat," James explained in an earnest tone.  
  
The girl's already wide eyes grew even wider. She glanced at Sirius again with a horrified look on her face, before running over to whisper frantically to another group of first years.  
  
Sirius, noticing the looks of the intimidated first years, began to moan even louder, and suddenly jumped to his feet and sprinted full speed towards the small group of first years. They shrieked and quickly dispersed.  
  
"Iggidy biggety bah!" Sirius screamed, waving his wand wildly. "Rrrrrr!"  
  
Ogg shot Sirius a dirty look, and began to gather up the first years, who were all in various states of panic.  
  
While Ogg and his assistant Hagrid were busy trying to calm the first years, Sirius wrapped his cloak around his head and inconspicuously crept towards the boats, motioning for James, Remus and Peter to follow.   
  
James sighed, he knew that he would follow Sirius. Part of him just wanted to enter the hall like a normal second year, but then again, he knew that whatever Sirius and Nymphadora had planned would be a lot more fun than what would be in store for him in the other route.  
  
So James and the other two Marauders crept to the bushes to hide with Sirius. Being careful to hide their faces, James and the others subtly climbed into boats as the first years were boarding. They were not noticed.  
  
James and Sirius boarded with Nymphadora, and the two boys managed to stay discreet under her guidance. Peter wasn't exactly well known, so he boarded with strangers and was not recognized. Remus kept his head down and managed to avoid Ogg's gaze.  
  
The fleet was halfway across the lake when Sirius and Nymphadora met eyes and exchanged a meaningful nod.  
  
Sirius nudged James, and James caught Remus's attention. The first to stand was Sirius, but the others followed quickly.  
  
Before Bellatrix, and her innocent boat companions could react, three separate spells were headed her way. Remus, however looked a bit puzzled and Peter leapt up a moment to late, and managed to tip his own vessel in the process.  
  
Bellatrix's boat not only tipped, but shot straight up in the air about ten feet and landed upside down. James thought that this beat last year's fiasco ten to one. While it was fun to torture Lily Evans, Bellatrix scored much higher on the evil scale, and James would rather see her suffer than Lily any day.  
  
Of course, the tipping of Bellatrix's boat had quite an amusing effect on the rest of the frightened first years. Many leapt up themselves, and those in boats nearest to the Marauders, screamed and two more of the small boats were tipped.  
  
Ogg was furious and several prefects were even more so, embarrassed by their failure to spot the Marauders among the first years. Peter and the rest of the fallen students emerged fairly quickly, pushed up by a mysteriously large tentacle. Most looked wet, but in fairly good spirits. However, a moment later, Bellatrix surface, sopping wet and furious. Sirius applauded loudly as she climbed pathetically into a boat next to Tad Whelblock, one of the new Gryffindor prefects.   
  
"Way to go Bella!" he called after a loud whistle.   
  
James added a quick, "Lookin' good! I hear the wet dog look is very popular this year."  
  
A few first years began to giggle and James noticed a few of the girls batting their eyelashes in his direction. He smiled back in a cocky manner, glad for the attention. Sirius too, was attracting his share of attention. The difference was that Sirius could care less, he was too focused on hating Bellatrix to even notice the cute first year girls who were looking his way.  
  
As it was, Bellatrix's introduction to Hogwarts, was almost as traumatic as Lily's had been the previous year.  
  
James and the other Marauders were escorted to the Great Hall by Ogg.  
  
"When I get through with the four of you, you are going to wish you had never come to this school! With antics like that, I will make sure you are expelled, and then some!" Ogg bellowed angrily as he lead the four Marauders into the hall, and forced them to sit next to on the teacher's bench.  
  
Already stories were going around about the escort of the first years across the lake. Peter looked faintly ill, looking around in horror at the crowd of people glancing at him and the other Marauders. Remus looked a bit guilty, but both James and Sirius were enjoying the attention. James was casually ruffling his already messy hair, and Sirius was shooting menacing glares at the nervous looking first years lining up near the door.  
  
James smiled as the timid procession was escorted inwards by Dumbledore. He remembered exactly what it had felt like the first time he had entered Hogwarts, the feeling of terror, mixed with elation of the prospect of being singled out to try on the hat.  
  
This year the hat was sitting on the same stool, looking exactly the same. So naturally, James was a little surprised when it belted out a completely different song.   
  
_First years come and gather 'round  
It's time to hear a remarkable sound  
For at Hogwarts, it is true   
This is something you must do  
Listen to the Sorting Hat  
Pay attention and do not chat  
For I will tell you where you shall go  
And which house you shall know  
Through thick and thin,  
Your house will be your kin,  
Stick together and you will succeed  
Whether you follow or you lead  
Each house has a different tone  
Which one will you call your own?  
Gryffindors are sure to lead  
They specialize in noble deeds  
Brave and loyal, just and true  
This is what Gryffindors do  
Ravenclaws use their minds  
Digging up intellectual finds  
Wisdom and truth are their gifts  
Ravenclaws cause no rifts  
Hufflepuffs are workers true  
They will always see things through  
Always fair and always kind  
Even when in a bind  
Slytherins will do anything to win  
For them, ambitions never run thin  
Sly and cunning, these people are  
Their skills will always take them far  
Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin  
No matter which house you are in  
Every house and every scholar  
Will leave this school just a little bit taller  
So line on up, the time is here  
First years, there is nothing to fear  
Try me on, I'll have a look  
At every cranny and every nook  
Inside your mind  
Until I can find  
The thing that lets me know  
Just where you ought to go. _  
  
When the hat concluded it's song, the hall was filled with the noise of furious applause and cat calls. Sirius was among the loudest catcallers.  
  
"The sorting hat is sexy!" Sirius cried, and James began to seriously doubt his friends sanity.   
  
Perhaps the show that Sirius had been putting on was not so much a show as James had thought. The first years were still shooting him slightly terrified glances, but so were several older students as well. It seemed very much as if Sirius had lost his marbles. Still, James didn't much care. Sirius was his best friend, crazy or not.  
  
"Alouise, Marci!" the sorting hat called.  
  
A very small and very pretty blond first year stepped forward, her pale blue eyes wide with anticipation. She seemed to flinch when the hat touched her head, and when it called out "Gryffindor!" she fell off the stool looking a bit surprised.  
  
James watched her as she walked shakily over to the Gryffindor table. The terms brave and bold did not seem to fit her very well from first glance. Still, he was happy that such a girl was joining Gryffindor, his house could always use more pretty girls. All of the Marauders clapped loudly along with the Gryffindor table, although they were seated apart.  
  
Several more names were called, and James found himself growing bored. He watched Nymphadora and Bellatrix with curiosity. They were the only two first years he knew so far, and he already had strong ideas of where they would end up. Bellatrix belonged in Slytherin, no doubt, anything else would be unfathomable. Nymphadora, James hoped, would become a Gryffindor. Of course, the incident between her and Lily had been unfortunate, but it had just been a misunderstanding, Nymphadora was only doing what she had to do. He finally decided that Nymphadora would be the one to keep his sympathy.  
  
Finally Bellatrix was called forward, and to no one's surprise, except perhaps Lily and Brittany's, she became a Slytherin. Sirius's dark haired cousin slinked off assuredly, her heavy lidded eyes shining in the light. James saw Bella flash Lily Evans a small smile and a disappointed shrug as she passed by their table, but distinctly saw Bellatrix roll her eyes when Lily was out of sight.  
  
James felt a burning desire to stand up and curse her but restrained himself, he could see that Sirius was experiencing a similar sentiment. It was going to be infuriating having Bellatrix at Hogwarts. She was so manipulative, and sly, and there was very little that could be done against her.  
  
Struggling to control himself, James turned his attention to the procession of first years. Lars Levin became a Ravenclaw and Scarlet Lummox a Hufflepuff.  
  
The four Marauders waited impatiently until the familiar and well loved name of Nymphadora Tonks was called out, and a now blue haired girl skipped forward happily and tripped over her own feet. Nymphadora landed on her face and jumped up quickly to a twittering of laughter, not looking in the least phased. She plopped down on the stool and fastened the hat to her head. A moment later the hat called out "Gryffindor", and James and Sirius erupted into wild shrieks.  
  
Nymphadora leapt up, knocking over the stool in the process, and ran over to the Gyffindor table, only once she had arrived realizing that she was still wearing the hat. Flushing red, she hurriedly returned it to it's stool.  
  
"Good old Tonks," Sirius commented amiably, slapping James on the back with glee.  
  
Ogg, quickly commanded them to contain themselves, and the Maruaders sat complacently once more to wait out the rest of the ceremonies.  
  
However, after all of the first years had been sorted into houses and the students began to turn to Dumbledore, the hat called out another name, "Charles, Roderick."  
  
A gasp went through the Great Hall when a tall boy emerged from the doorway. Roderick was tall and well built, obviously no first year. Many were surprised by the appearance of such a large and unorthodox character. However, James and Sirius gasped for another reason altogether.  
  
The two Marauders, along with a great deal of others recognized Roderick, as the keeper from the Guatemalan Goblins Quidditch team. He was known as one of the best Quidditch players in the league.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Sirius questioned excitedly.   
  
"He must be a transfer," Remus answered sensibly.  
  
James only gazed up at Roderick in awe. He had never imagined that there were Quidditch players who were still in school. Even more strange, was the fact that Roderick Charles played for Guatemala, yet he was here, in Hogwarts.  
  
The Quidditch player walked confidently up to the sorting hat and placed it at an angle atop his head.   
  
James could hear many of the girls giggling and commenting on Roderick's good looks. The word was quickly circulating to those who did not follow Quidditch, who exactly was sitting on the stool. Everyone grew quiet when the hat called out "Gryffindor!" Then a hysteric cheering began and James and the other Marauders joined in loudly.  
  
However, James was quickly distracted when Dumbledore announced that it was time to eat.  
  
Unfortunately, the four Marauders were denied the right to take part in the feast. Ogg insisted that he escort the four boys to professor Lacy's room.  
  
Being denied access to the feast put the four boys in much damper spirits, but still they were happy to have returned to Hogwarts, faced with a whole year full of mayhem and Quidditch. James and Sirius were happy about the Quidditch part in particular, for this year they were second years, and allowed to try out for the team. Though the beater positions were already occupied, both boys aspired to overthrow the current two occupants. Their happiness, at least, could not be daunted at the prospect of being lectured by Professor Lacy.  
  
Peter however, kept whining nervously about being expelled, and Remus simply stayed quiet. He hadn't really done anything in the first place, James reckoned, yet Remus had been there just the same.  
  
"What will my parents say," Peter whined miserably, "If I am expelled? I'll have to live just like a squib. It will be horrible!"  
  
Peter looked on the verge of tears, and Sirius looked incredibly annoyed.  
  
"Shut up, will you? We're not going to be expelled!" He hissed.  
  
James nodded. "Peter, stop being a baby."  
  
Peter continued to whimper loudly, and finally Sirius moved forward about to clock him on the head, when Remus stopped him.  
  
"It's alright Pete, we won't be expelled. Don't worry about it a bit. It's just Professor Lacy we are dealing with, she probably won't even give us detentions," Remus said tactfully.  
  
That calmed Peter down a bit, and appeased Sirius.  
  
When Professor Lacy finally arrived, she found Remus calmly reading a book entitled 100 Draughts to Befuddle Your Enemies, Peter twitching nervously in a corner, and Sirius and James playing catch with a Remembrall which they had extracted from Peter's person.  
  
No one stopped what they were doing until she cleared her throat loudly.  
  
Sirius jumped, and failed to the catch the Remembrall, which instead resounded off of his head with a clunk, before falling to the ground.  
  
"No!" James called out and dove forward, catching the ball a centimeter from the floor, and then tossing it haphazardly back to Peter, who barely managed to catch it.  
  
Professor Lacy cleared her throat loudly and the boys turned towards her sheepishly.  
  
"Hello Professor," Remus greeted amiably.   
  
The other boys followed his example.  
  
"Hello boys," Lacy said with a slight smile. "I'm sorry we had to greet each other under such bad terms. That being said, I am very disappointed in your behavior towards those poor first years! As if last year's fiasco wasn't bad enough. Half of the new students were out of their minds with fear! I would have thought that as second years you would have been more responsible towards these new students. I'm afraid I must assign you each detentions with me, after tomorrow's lessons, to help teach you about the importance of being kind to first years."  
  
"All right professor, we will be there," Remus assured her, as the others left gleefully.  
  
"See, I told you we would get off easy!" Sirius exclaimed. "One detention a piece, with Lacy! She has got to be the nicest teacher, her detentions can't be too bad!"  
  
"It's a good thing she's our head of house. If we had Snape we would have been expelled by now for sure," James commented sagely.  
  
Happy, though a bit hungry, the boys finally arrived in Gryffindor tower, where students seemed to be celebrating Roderick's addition to the house. The majority of the Gryffindors seemed to be crowded around him, asking him questions. Several girls were holding out pieces of parchment adorned with Roderick's autograph, and excitedly showing off to their friends. James rolled his eyes, and led his friends away from the mayhem, but secretly, he too was tempted to approach him.  
  
"Good thing he's not a beater, huh?" Sirius nudged James with a grin.  
  
"Do you think he'll actually play for Gryffindor?" Peter asked hopefully.  
  
"Of course he will." James said assuredly.  
  
James smiled and turned around, surprised to run smack into Lily Evans.  
  
Her face was bruised, and her scarf was slipping, revealing her choppy red hair. James winced involuntarily at the sight of her. Nymphadora had certainly done a number to Lily's face.   
  
"What exactly happened to your hair Lily?" James blurted out without thinking, and then instantly realized that it might not have been the wisest question to ask.  
  
Lily's already puffy face grew redder and her green eyes gleamed warningly. "Leave me alone Potter! It's your fault, but I'm sure you will not care!"  
  
James inadvertently took a step back, running a hand through his messy hair. "Hey, I did not do a thing to your hair."  
  
"Well, Petunia would not have chopped my hair off if you hadn't tried to kill her boyfriend!" Lily screamed.  
  
Several of Roderick Charles' fans turned their heads to watch the commotion.  
  
"I didn't try to kill him," James said as quietly as he could manage, a bit embarrassed at the attention they were receiving.  
  
"You could have killed him all the same! Dropping him like that from the ceiling…"  
  
"Hey! I wouldn't have dropped him if you hadn't taken my wand!" James screamed back, beginning to get angry.  
  
"You are such an idiot James!" Lily yelled. "With your messy hair and your geeky glasses!"  
  
James took a step forward, "Oh yeah, well look at you! Your hair looks like a flaming pile of garbage, and at least my face doesn't look like a pound of hamburger! You know what? I am glad that Petunia chopped your hair off and you deserved what Nymphadora did to you. I don't even care if it's my fault, I'd do it again! In fact, I would do worse. I you weren't a girl…"  
  
James would have kept going but Remus was tugging on his sleeve, and finally the tugging grew so urgent that James was forced to catch his breath. He pushed Remus away lightly and turned back to Lily. When his eyes met hers he froze, instantly regretting everything that he had just said.  
  
In all the time he had known Lily Evans, she had always been quick to lose her temper. Never had she failed to be furious at James for even the most innocent offenses. So when James looked at Lily, he was expecting yelling, slapping even throwing things. He was not expecting her to cry.  
  
But Lily stood before him, not moving, just staring with her swollen lip quivering, her eyes growing moist. He watched in horror as the first tear fell down her cheek and instantly began to stutter out the beginnings of an apology.   
  
All around him, people were staring. Even Roderick Charles had stopped signing autographs to watch the scene unfold.  
  
"Lily… I… I … it wasn't… wait!" James called remorsefully.  
  
Lily didn't stay to listen, she turned quickly and darted up the stairs.  
  
Eyebrows were raised, and students muttered. Many remembered past incidents involving James in the past, and rolled their eyes, dismissing it as typical. He heard some girls talking in loud whispers about the time when James had shoved Lily, after hearing his brother had died.  
  
Brittany, Dora and Jackie stayed long enough to shoot James evil looks before dashing up the stairs after their friend.  
  
"He's abusive! I told you last year. I don't understand why that girl stays with him, they fight so much," one fourth year was saying a bit loudly.  
  
James broke out of his stupor and approached the girls, who instantly ceased their gossiping. "She's not my girlfriend by the way. And yeah, you know I feel great about what just happened, I am a terrible person. I get it."  
  
Feeling incredibly immature and peevish, James hurried up the stairs to his own dorm room, where he sulked in as much privacy as he could. Many of his fellow second years were trying to get through to him, but fortunately Sirius and Remus managed to hold them at bay. 


	29. Book 2 Chapter 7

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 7-A Hairy Problem and a Willing Tutor**

* * *

The next morning, James rose late, and joined his friends just as they were finishing breakfast. Sirius and Remus took off when they had finished, and Peter followed hastily, leaving James alone. James turned to Nymphadora, and scooted over to find a seat next to her.  
  
"Hey James," Nymphadora greeted in an uncharacteristically serious tone. "I just wanted to talk to you about what you said to Lily last night."  
  
James groaned and turned away.   
  
"I don't think you did anything wrong James," Nymphadora breached carefully. "She deserved it. I just wanted to tell you that what you said was really low. It's below the belt to insult her appearance like that. I mean I feel really bad about hitting her as it is, but what you did was much worse. With a girl, you should never insult how she looks."  
  
James rolled his eye and pretended to focus on an interesting spot on the ceiling. In fact, the ceiling generally was a spot of interest, as it was bewitched to look like the sky outside.  
  
Unperturbed by James' feigned indifference, Nymphadora turned to her friend, simultaneously knocking a glass of orange juice all over James's robes. Nymphadora's face flushed and she whipped out her wand quickly to repair the damage.  
  
"Sorry James, I'll fix it," Nymphadora blustered.   
  
Before James had time to stop her Nymphadora had muttered a spell which somehow lit James' robes afire.  
  
Nymphadora and James both screamed and leapt up, James spouting alarming ribbons of orange and red. Nymphadora tripped over her own feet. Quickly and calmly, a pretty blond girl stood up and shouted a counter curse, and James' flames went out.  
  
Looking more than a bit flustered, Nymphadora made and excuse to leave and quickly retreated from the Great Hall, leaving James and her blond friend behind.  
  
The blond girl smiled shyly and James grinned back, adjusting his robes. He recognized her from the sorting ceremony. She was the pretty blond girl whom he had applauded vigorously for.  
  
"Hello, I don't think we have met. My name is James." He introduced himself without letting the grin fall from his face.  
  
"Yeah, I know… I mean I've heard Nymphadora talk about you before. My name is Marci Alouise."  
  
James shook her hand vigorously and perhaps for a little too long.  
  
The small blond girl giggled and blushed, finally withdrawing her hand after the seconds stretched into minutes.   
  
"Thank you Marci, for saving my life," James crooned lightly. "If not for your brave display, perhaps I would be nothing but a pile of ash."  
  
Once again Marci giggled and batted her eyelashes. "Well it was only a small flame retardant charm."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "And you are a first year! Wow, that makes me feel really stupid, I have never even heard of that spell. Oh, and there have been so many times when I could have used that."  
  
"I could give you private lessons if you like," Marci said with a bat of her eyelashes.  
  
James raised and eyebrow and ruffled his messy hair. "Sure, I'd like that."  
  
Yet another giggle was omitted from the tiny blonde and James felt hope rising in him. What if the girl liked him? He figured that he could win her over.   
  
As James headed towards his first class of the year, his mind was filled with fantasies of him and Marci. He could imagine the two of them walking hand in hand by the lake, he could see her leaning against him and confessing her love. James' ego began to pump up as he pictured himself as he thought she must see him, the strong and brilliant older man. James assumed a manly pose and flexed as he stopped at the doorway of his first class, Herbology with the Slytherins.   
  
James knew that being late on his first day would not make a good impression, but impressions really mattered very little to him. He was confident enough without the approval of teachers.  
  
As it was, Professor Sprout was otherwise occupied. It seemed that James had missed out by not arriving on time.   
  
When he walked in, Sirius was on top of a desk, wildly brandishing his wand, to the amazement of James, as well as the rest of the class. Professor Sprout was frantically trying to block Sirius's efforts. Behind Professor Sprout, James could just make out a dark figure ducking behind a familiar redhead.  
  
"Out of my way!" Sirius yelled, dashing around the professor.  
  
James ran forward trying to figure out what was going on. Then he saw the figure crouching behind Lily. It was Sirius's least favorite cousin, Bellatrix. Still, James was confused.  
  
"Sirius, don't!" James yelled, trying to keep up with his friend.  
  
Sirius Black was jumping over desks and scrambling around panicking students. Bellatrix continued to cling to Lily, shrieking in terror.  
  
Sirius stopped just short of Lily.  
  
"Move Evans," he shouted impatiently. "Don't make me hex you!"  
  
"Leave her alone Sirius! She did nothing to you! I'm warning you…" Lily responded bravely. Her green eyes gleamed wildly under her white scarf. James though she resembled an Amazon, brilliantly brave, her harsh strain of beauty lined with danger and strength.  
  
James watched as Sirius violently attempted to tear Lily away from the cowering Bellatrix, shuffling quickly to make his way to the front, where Professor Sprout was pulling ineffectually on Sirius's robes.  
  
Lily was being, of course, characteristically Lily, and refused to be pushed aside. "Leave her alone!" she yelled, placing herself directly in the line of danger, a martyr waiting to be born.  
  
Even though Sirius was raging, he was still unwilling to do more than push Lily aside, stopping short of doing her any real damage. James wasn't sure what sneaky thing Bellatrix had done to warrant Sirius's rage, but he had no doubt that she had earned it.   
  
It was James, with Remus's help, who finally pulled Sirius away from Lily and Bellatrix.  
  
"Mr. Black, if you can calm yourself you may remain, however, if I ever see another outburst like that I will have you permanently removed from this class!" Professor Sprout reproached angrily. "You will see me after class about your punishment, and I insist that you stay away from those girls who cause you such anger. Attacking other students! What is the world coming to?" she muttered dangerously under her breath.  
  
Sirius finally was persuaded to take a seat, though he was still fuming. James wondered who looked more angry, Sirius or Lily. Tubby Professor Sprout quickly resumed the lecture, still looking a bit flustered, but completely intent on carrying on with the lesson. It was several minutes before James dared to speak to his friend.  
  
"What happened mate?" James finally asked in a whisper, when Professor Sprout seemed to have successfully redirected the attention of the class.  
  
"What do you think?" Sirius hissed back. "Bellatrix is a dirty little backstabber, that's what. I do not trust her an inch!"  
  
"Never mind why she is even in a second year class, why did you attack her?" James asked under his breath when Professor Sprout was busy dealing with Severus, whose notes had been destroyed by several of Malfoy's friends as entertainment.  
  
Sirius looked around suspiciously, as if fearing that Bellatrix was eavesdropping. "Something she said to me, which no one else heard."  
  
James shrugged. "What did she say?"  
  
"I don't remember the exact words, but it was vile."  
  
"Tell me what you do remember," James hissed impatiently.  
  
"She let me know that she is up to something. I think it has to do with a certain redhead."  
  
"Lily?" James asked, horrified.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I guess. I don't really know why she made me so angry, its just that everything I seem to do only helps her! Nothing I can do to stop it. Something horrible is going to come of this, mark my words. Bellatrix is just like her mother, she will stop at nothing to accomplish her foul aims."  
  
James glanced once more at Lily, who was smiling faintly beneath her scarf at Bellatrix. Bellatrix returned Lily's look with a psuedo bashful glance, conveying her supposed gratitude.   
  
He understood somehow what Sirius meant. There was something about Bellatrix which made his blood boil. She was nothing like Lucius and his friends, something told James that she was a much more dangerous opponent. However much James fought with Lily, he could never condone a person such as Bellatrix to hurt her.  
  
Still feeling guilty about his outburst, James resolved to make it up to Lily somehow. James decided that once he persuaded her to tolerate him once more, he would warn her about Bellatrix. He wanted to talk to her immediately, but knew that it would not be the best time after last night's turmoil.  
  
"Why is she in this class?" he asked.  
  
Sirius shrugged, more than likely the question had never even occurred to him.  
  
Remus was the one to answer. "She probably requested to be. First years can take additional classes if they want. The ambitious ones often do. All she would have to do is get it cleared with Dumbledore and her head of house."  
  
After class, Sirius bid James goodbye gloomily, for once looking regretful about being punished. James understood the sentiment. Something about the whole scenario was very unsettling.  
  
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and James found himself with time to spare when Sirius announced that he would be serving his detention that same evening. Remus was studying, and James found the prospect of alone time with Peter more than just a bit dull.   
  
For nearly an hour James paced the halls, thinking about all of the drama which had unfolded. As much as he tried to forget about it, a feeling of guilt kept distracting him from lighter thoughts. Lily's face kept popping into his mind, not the tearful and bruised face of the previous night, but the freckled and pleasant features that he had known and despised for so long.   
  
The sources of his guilt were numerous. Lily had suffered not one but three injustices as of late, and James didn't know what to do to atone for a single one of them. Apologizing seemed like the simplest choice, yet he knew he could never do it. Seeking forgiveness was just not in his nature. James thought about it all night until suddenly he had an epiphany.   
  
Lily was a girl, and James knew that girls cared a lot about what they looked like. Nymphadora had affirmed that. James also reckoned that he was more or less responsible for her hideous new hair style. What Lily needed, he decided, was a solution to her hair problem. James decided to make her a wig.  
  
After much consideration, James decided that the first step to making a wig was to obtain hair. James began his quest in the common room.  
  
James narrowed down the possibilities to several first year girls with long hair. The first one he approached was a jumpy looking girl with big round glasses named Penelope Abbot.  
  
"Hello there," James greeted her cheerfully. "How are you doing today?"  
  
The girl drew back, looking terrified. "Aren't you friends with that crazy boy?"  
  
James paused, taken aback. His surprise did not last long.  
  
"Why, yes. As a matter of fact, I am approaching you because Sirius, aka that crazy boy, has picked you to be his next victim," James lied smoothly.  
  
"What will he do?" Penelope's eyes widened fearfully.  
  
"Well," James drawled, "I really can not say at this point. It will be something awful though, he really does love doing awful things, but he never does the same thing twice."  
  
"Can you stop him," She wailed tearfully, "please! I'll do anything!"  
  
James sighed at her pathetically predictable display and pretended to consider.   
  
"I really should not be doing this for you, Sirius would kill me if he knew, but there is one easy way out of it," James explained.  
  
"What?" Penelope cried.  
  
"Sirius never goes after girls with short hair. I don't know why but it is just some odd stereotype of his. If you let me cut your hair he would definitely leave you alone," James said slyly.  
  
Behind her thick glasses Penelope narrowed her eyes, her fingers reaching up to stroke her long brown hair nervously. "Are you sure? I really like my hair long. Maybe I will just try to avoid him," Penelope sounded a bit unsure.  
  
James moved in for the kill. "Suit yourself then. Just don't blame me if he comes after you with his hatchet."  
  
Penelope leapt up quickly. "I'll do it! Cut my hair! Please?"  
  
James shrugged. "I guess."  
  
An hour later with a cauldron full of wavy brown hair, James began to search through his textbooks for a color changing spell.   
  
Long after the rest of his roommates fell sound asleep, James finally succeeded in turning the brown hairs red. The color was exceedingly more dramatic than Lily's color, more of a shockingly fake shade reminiscent of a clown. Nevertheless, James was very happy with it, feeling that it was even better than the tint of her actual hair.  
  
James shook Sirius awake to inquire about how he might obtain some all purpose glue, and managed to locate some in Peter's satchel. Sirius fell back asleep instantly, but James stayed up for the rest of the night working on the present for Lily.  
  
By the time that the first light of day was beginning to seep through the curtained windows, James was just putting the finishing touches on the wig. He felt that it was a masterpiece. James had put a lot of effort into the making of the wig, and he thought that surely Lily would have no choice but to forgive him once he gave it to her.  
  
When Sirius yawned and rolled out of bed, James quickly tried the wig on his own head and assumed a girly pose.  
  
Sirius let out a scream which woke the rest of the dozing boys. He rolled back the covers and emerged quickly from his bed, sporting superman pajamas. James tossed him the wig and waited for Sirius to spout praises.  
  
"Is that some sort of creature? Where is the slime coming from?" Sirius asked, examining the wig closely.  
  
James shook his head confidently. "It's not a creature, it's a wig. I made it for Lily. And that's not slime, it's glue."  
  
Sirius looked skeptical. "You are going to glue this atrocity to Lily's head? Sorry to break it to you mate, but that is not really the best way to make an apology."  
  
"I'm not going to glue it to her head!" James looked astonished that his friend would think such a thing. "I made it for her as a present. You know, to make up for what I said to her. Also it was kind of my fault Petunia chopped off her hair in the first place."  
  
Sirius took a deep breath. "Look James, I really don't know about this. It really is kind of strange looking."  
  
"Are you joking? This is practically professional quality. It took me all night and it was made from real hair and everything," James said defensively.  
  
"Alright," Sirius shrugged. "Your choice, man. I can't want to see her face when you give it to her."  
  
James shrugged off Sirius's strange comment. He was immensely proud of his artistic creation, and nothing that anyone could say would diminish his satisfaction. James was assured that Lily would throw herself at his feet in gratefulness upon receiving his masterpiece.   
  
A struggle between two desires was going on in James' mind. Part of him wanted to wait for every boy in the dorm room to wake up so he could show off his snazzy wig, but another part of him was too impatient for Lily to behold the result of his labor to wait for them. Finally he contented himself by shaking Remus and Peter awake and hurriedly shoving the wig in their faces without any explanation before wrapping it in an old copy of the daily prophet and hurrying out the door.  
  
James literally flew down the stairs, tripping only a few times and out into the hall. He pushed his way through a group of intimidating seventh years, one of whom appeared to be trying to tell him something, and darted in between Oliver Crabbe and another equally stupid crony in his efforts to find Lily quickly.  
  
As he approached the great hall, the thought occurred to him that perhaps Lily was not already inside. To James, the thought was almost to grave to handle, he couldn't imagine waiting any longer to reveal his surprise. With a strange hesitance, James threw open the double doors dramatically and stepped into the hall, a small and striking figure below the vivid sunny skies.  
  
At first he thought that she wasn't there, and he was about to leave in disgust, but then he spotted her, discreet under a dark brown scarf. Paying no attention to Lily's companions, James marched toward her in determination.  
  
He came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. It seemed to him as if it took her an eternity to turn her around, turning not only just her head but her whole body. As soon as she saw him her expression turned from surprise to mistrust and loathing. One of her companions turned around as well and grinned a little too widely.  
  
James recognized the girl to Lily's left as Bellatrix, but he ignored her, sure that his gift would be enough to silence any objection of Bellatrix's.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked him impatiently.  
  
James smiled and wordlessly thrust his sloppy wad of newspaper towards her.  
  
Lily turned the strange package over in her hands and shot James an inquisitive look. "Is this a joke?"  
  
"No way, can't you see what this is? No need to thank me, I understand. I'm sure you appreciate how much I do for you," James proclaimed grandiosely.  
  
Her fingers moving cautiously, under Bellatrix's smirk, Lily slowly removed the crumpled paper. The skeptical expression on her face turned into one of horror when the strange ball of hair and glue emerged.  
  
Lily let out a high pitched shriek and threw the package to the floor. "What is that thing? It looks like some kind of dead animal!"  
  
James looked at her in confusion. "No Lily, I made it for you, it's a wig, so you don't have to have that funny scarf on your head anymore," he said earnestly.  
  
It was not like James to be so honest, and Lily did not believe it for a second.   
  
"You are making fun of me?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. Lily's hand unconsciously patted her scarf. "I hate you!" she screamed, drawing her hand back and slapping him across the face.  
  
Bellatrix laughed out loud, and pulled Lily down in her seat.  
  
For once it was James who stood flabbergasted, his shock all too evident on his face. 


	30. Book 2 Chapter 8

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 8- Usurpation and Distraction  
**

* * *

Luckily, James was not able to dwell on his failure with Lily for too long. Later that very afternoon Sirius approached him cheerfully with good news.  
  
"You'll never guess what I just saw posted in the main hall!" Sirius called excitedly.  
  
"What?" James asked gloomily.   
  
"Quidditch updates. Gryffindor tryouts are tomorrow after lessons. We have a practice today. Just think James, before long we will both be the best two beaters this school has ever seen!" Sirius babbled happily.  
  
"Yeah," James grinned cockily, already over his wig problem. "And I'm sure Roderick Charles is going to be on the team too. What if he likes us? Maybe he'll put in a good word for us with the International Quidditch league!"  
  
"Do you still think he is playing for Guatemala?" Sirius mused aloud.

* * *

Classes passed extremely slow for James. The news about Quidditch tryouts prevented him from paying any attention to his teachers, whatsoever. The fact that his first class of the day happened to be History of Magic, with the boring old Professor Binns, made concentrating on his status as a future beater even more natural.  
  
Unlike the other teachers, Professor Binns did not even make an introduction to the second years. Instead he simply began talking.  
  
"Today we will be covering Goblin oppression in the 12th and 13th centuries," Binns intoned dryly. "Oppression of Goblins had begun long before this but the first solid records of such inequality for their race was not evident until the later periods…"  
  
James stopped paying attention at that point. He knew that Binns would not notice him if he began singing along with what the old man was saying. James pulled out a short piece of parchment and began sketching a crude drawing of two boys on broomsticks, hurling bludgers at another stick figure labeled Snivellus.  
  
After carefully folding the note into a paper airplane, and bewitching it to fly over to Sirius, who was sitting four seats away from James, he went back to pretending to listen to the lecture for a bit longer.  
  
When attempting to pay attention failed, James found another distraction… watching Lily. The fact that she had scorned his wig, his masterpiece, had James particularly irked. He had tried to apologize, but oh no, Lily could not accept it, she was too proud. The more James watched her, the angrier he got. Finally he resolved to seek revenge, ideas were already forming.  
  
Sirius returned the letter quickly and James was pleased to find that two more stick figures were shown on his same drawing, both being pelted by bludgers. One was labeled Lucius Malfoy, and the other Bellatrix Lestrange.  
  
It was as much as James could do to get through the rest of his classes in his impatience to begin practice. Unfortunately, James also happened to miss Professor Binns' announcement that next class an essay on examples of oppression would due on Friday, four feet of parchment total.

* * *

James and Sirius were the first two people to arrive on the Quidditch field. Both boys had brought their brooms, as well as a case with two bludgers that James had gotten for Christmas of the previous year.  
  
The two boys were busily engaged in the old bludgers game which had got them in so much trouble over the summer. They had not been able to practice it at Lily's, so they were both psyched to have the option of knocking each other out of the air.  
  
The two Maruaders were so thoroughly caught up in the game that they failed to notice Roderick Charles entering the Quidditch field.  
  
James was the first to see him, a few minutes later. When he turned his head to look he was nearly knocked off of his broom by Sirius's bludger.  
  
Adeptly, James grasped his handle and swung himself back onto his broom in one swift motion. Ignoring Sirius, he swooped down to Roderick's height.  
  
"Are you playing Quidditch this year?" James blathered excitedly.  
  
Roderick grinned and nodded.  
  
Sirius had caught on and quickly abandoned the two wildly circling bludgers to join James and Roderick on the ground.  
  
"So, how was the Gryffindor team last year?" Roderick asked good naturedly.  
  
Sirius and James both began talking exuberantly at the same time. Roderick looked confused for a moment, but the scene was interrupted when a bludger came zooming down towards the trio.   
  
Before the two second years knew what was happening, Roderick leapt out in front of them and caught the bludger, wrestling it into the ground.  
  
James and Sirius both stood gaping stupidly until, Roderick called out "Get the case!"  
  
James retrieved it first and Roderick shoved it into the compartment and strapped it in, slamming the case shut before turning back to the two boys.  
  
"So, are you two beaters then?" Roderick asked.  
  
"Well.." James started.  
  
"Of course we are!" Sirius interrupted haughtily. "We are the best two beaters this school has ever seen. In fact, I bet we are the two best beaters in the history of this school; maybe even in the history of the sport!"  
  
Roderick raised an eyebrow and looked at Sirius, and then at James.  
  
"Er… right." James added, showing off his quick wit and mentally shunning Sirius for his outrageous claims. "I hear you are a pretty good keeper, yourself," James added quickly to take the focus away from himself.  
  
Roderick shrugged. "Aye, it's been said. This year I am playing for Britain. They lost a couple of players last year, so they bought us out. Oh, well, it's a change of pace I guess."  
  
James swallowed and looked somewhere off to the left, trying to fight back the memories that thoughts of the Britain Boggarts evoked.  
  
Indifferent to his friend's reaction, Sirius continued. "How do you think the team is going to be this year?"  
  
"Who, the Boggarts?" Roderick asked animatedly. "Well, it all depends on how we learn to work together. They have a brand new seeker, Frank Longbottom, he is supposed to be awesome. All around the team is already great. Last year they would have made the finals for sure if it wasn't for the death of last year's seeker."  
  
At this, Sirius's smile faded and he glanced at James.   
  
Looking away from the others, James hopped up on his broom and flew away without a word, hovering off in the distance. He watched from afar as Sirius made an explanation for James's behavior, and even from the sky James could see the surprised look on Roderick's face. James knew that he could not blame Roderick for John's death, but it had just caught him off guard.  
  
Roderick looked like he was about to hop on his broom and join James, but Sirius was shaking his head and pointing to several small figures approaching the green.   
  
After James felt he had effectively restrained himself from an emotional display, he soared downwards and greeted Professor Reclarus and several of the returning players, including the two third year beaters from last year, Tad Wolf and Hans Zukenhower. To Tad and Hans, James was sure to shoot a dirty look.  
  
Eagerly, Professor Reclarus shook Roderick's hand and insisted on clapping him repeatedly on the back saying, "Good to see you old chap, good to see you!"  
  
Roderick waited patiently until the Professor was done with his hand and the rest of the boys had said their pieces before jumping on his broom and circling impatiently. James and Sirius followed suit, waiting for the rest of the potential Quidditch players to arrive.  
  
The players continued to warm up until Professor Reclarus blew his whistle sharply and everyone flocked toward him.  
  
"Listen up everybody," Reclarus called. "Since last year's captain has appointed Chaser Louis Armand captain for the new year, it would normally be up to him to hold tryouts…"  
  
Louis Armand, a bulky sixth year stepped forward cockily. "As this year's Gryffindor Quidditch captain I am pleased to announce…"  
  
Reclarus pushed him aside. "I wasn't finished boy! As I was saying, Louis would normally be in charge of the team, but due to unusual circumstances," Reclarus motioned towards Roderick, "I am reassigning the role of captain to Keeper Roderick Charles. Roderick, we are all glad to have you on the team. You will be in charge of tryouts!"  
  
Clapping Roderick on the back cheerfully, the professor did not even give Louis a chance to speak before heading back to the castle.  
  
Louis looked indignant and downright angry at Roderick. The famous Quidditch player himself, looked shocked and a bit flustered. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. I really had no intention of taking the post away from you, Louis. I am afraid that if it is your wish, Louis, I will resign from the captain position, as it was not rightfully mine to begin with."  
  
"No!" Sirius shouted instantly, along with several others.  
  
Louis looked around sourly. He had never been the best player, but had inherited the title of captain by default, as there was truly no one on the team who could replace Frank Longbottom. "I don't mind… you can have it Roderick. I don't want to be captain when everybody obviously prefers you."  
  
Slightly stricken, Roderick continued. "Right then. So, Reclarus told me that this team is looking to fill three positions. One, the keeper, shall most likely be filled by me. Well, I guess if I am the captain I should probably have the spot, but no matter. We need a new chaser and a new seeker as well. You all will be on equal footing today. Louis and I are available, along with all of the other returning players, to teach you any skills you don't know or that you feel need perfecting."  
  
James and Sirius looked at each other and rolled their eyes.  
  
"Tryouts, as you all know, will be held tomorrow, same place and time. As the captain, I will be judging based on skill, technique and attitude. Tryouts for each position will be grouped by time, and you will be performing the necessary skills for that particular spot. Potential chasers will be placed on opposite teams and will try to score as many times as possible. Seekers will be tested on reflexes and agility by completing an obstacle course set up by me. If anyone wants to challenge my place as a keeper I would be more than happy to set that up. Any questions?"  
  
Sirius quickly asked his, "What about beater tryouts? What do we do for that."  
  
Roderick looked confused. "Well, actually, Reclarus told me that we already have two beaters on the team, so there will be no need for tryouts."  
  
"But they aren't any good. If we can challenge you for the keeper position, it is only fair that we can challenge the current beaters for their position!" Sirius argued.  
  
Tad and Hans both looked a bit nervous. "We earned our positions fairly!" Hans shouted indignantly.  
  
"Yes, well, that was before we were old enough to compete against you. This year is a new year, and isn't the team more important than the individual. We should have a chance to try out, at least, that is unless Hans and Tad are too chicken!" James taunted.  
  
Roderick shrugged, "Well, it seems they have a fair argument." He turned to Hans and Tad. "What do you say boys? Are you up for a little competition?"  
  
Hans glowered and Tad shuffled his feet.   
  
"Fine," Tad finally conceded miserably. Hans nodded in reluctant agreement.  
  
Running a hand through his messy hair, James grinned, clutching his broom tightly, "let the games begin!"  
  
Sirius laughed, "and may the best men win!"  
  
Hans stepped forward stupidly, his fists clenched in a menacing manner, but Roderick intervened.  
  
"Well, what are you all standing about for? To the skies!" The new captain called gleefully.

* * *

James went to bed that night feeling very confident. Sirius and he had done much better than either of the two returning beaters, and James was sure that they both would get the spots they wanted. After the first day, he felt he possessed a good idea of who would be placed on the team. There was an outstanding chaser named Molly Ridgen and he was sure she would be a shoe in for that place. Roderick was already assured keeper and he and Sirius were beating the crap out of Tad and Hans. The only position that had no obvious person to fill it was seeker. There were four people out for this position, and all of them were wretched.  
  
It was not until the morning that James began to think of his other problem. Lily had snubbed him and made fun of his gift. James no longer felt he owed her anything, well anything besides revenge. He already had a good idea of how he could revenge himself upon her. However, he was waiting until after his tryout to tell the other Marauders about it.  
  
During breakfast James and Sirius boasted confidently to Peter and Remus about their prospects of making the Gryffindor team.   
  
"I could never do Quidditch, I am fine on the ground but I have no coordination in the air," Remus admitted.  
  
Peter grinned, "I am most horribly afraid of heights, Quidditch is not my thing."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Obviously."  
  
Peter looked embarrassed but James cut in, tactfully changing the subject. "So anyways… you know how Lily shunned my gift, well I have an idea to put her in her place…"

* * *

Classes had seemed to take an eternity for both James and Sirius, although neither claimed to be nervous. They arrived at the pitch early, as usual, and were forced to wait through chaser and seeker tryouts before they were announced.  
  
"I thought," Roderick spoke with authority, "since the beater positions are technically already filled, we will conduct this tryout a bit differently. We are going to try a little drill that is quite common among the professionals, though it is a bit dangerous. I am sure that two clear winners will emerge."  
  
The game was actually very similar to the one patented by James and Sirius. Except that in this one, there was only one bludger, and four people. The first to miss a hit or to fall off their broom lost. The two remaining on broom won the position.  
  
Tad started with the bludger and beat it first at Sirius, who dodged the heavy object easily before hitting it back towards Tad with a vengeance. Tad slipped and fell straight downwards at an alarming pace. Lazily, Roderick flicked his wand and Tad landed gently on the grass.  
  
Hans got a wild look in his eyes and began to circle wildly. James retrieved the bludger and sent it towards him hard. Hans managed to hit it away from himself, although the bludger simply careened off into the air in a random direction. James quickly intercepted it. Within a few minutes Hans had lost his balance on his broom as well and was disqualified.  
  
That was how James and Sirius usurped the positions of Gryffindor beaters. 


	31. Book 2 Chapter 9

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 9- First Dates and Wake Up Calls  
**

* * *

On one chilly afternoon James finally got to fulfill his study date dreams with Marci Alouise. The two met out on the Quidditch pitch after James had finished with his very first official practice as a beater. Marci had not brought a single book, but only a checkered blanket and a basket filled with who knows what.  
  
Gingerly, the small blond first year spread the blanket over the damp grass and sat down cross legged, beckoning James to join her.  
  
With his shoulders thrown back in what he presumed was a masculine pose, James strutted forward. He opened his mouth to make a witty comment, but unfortunately for his ego, he tripped over the edge of the blanket and went sprawling.  
  
This evoked even more giggling from the tiny blond.   
  
Retaining whatever dignity he could manage, James quickly threw himself into a casual seated position, as if he had taken a dive willfully just to obtain maximum comfort.  
  
"So," James spoke coolly, "let the study date begin."  
  
"Well, I wasn't really sure what to bring… but I thought I would teach you a reviving charm my grandmother taught me as a little girl. That is why I brought this basket," Marci began.  
  
James peered anxiously through the opening of the basket as Marci reached in a slim arm and withdrew a pink vase filled with several dried red roses.  
  
"They look dead," James commented astutely.  
  
"Yes, well, they are not dead, only almost. This spell can not give life to dead things, but can help small flowers bloom, or sick animals thrive. Potentially, it could give strength to humans too, but I do not think there is a wizard or witch alive who is powerful enough to do that."  
  
Marci carefully fingered her wand and with a flick chimed "Encontre Vitalis!".  
  
The withered red petals began to straighten and then curve. The deep burgundy color turned to a blood red hue and little beads of moisture began to appear on the soft surface of the rose.  
  
James raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."  
  
"Do you want to try?" she asked with a sweet smile.  
  
"Of course I do."  
  
Marci pulled yet another rose out of the basket, carefully avoiding the thorns, and placed it gently in James' hand.  
  
Lacking any sense of timing or sensitivity, James snatched the rose and with much wand waving fervor shouted the charm. This time, the rose not only bloomed, but seemed to double in size, as if it were bursting from the inside. Even the petals seemed thicker.  
  
Marci gasped. "You do it even better than I! That rose is beautiful!"  
  
Taking his cue, James thrust the rose forward. "For you, my lady," he proclaimed dramatically.  
  
Marci was so pleased that tears came to the corners of her eyes. She nearly forgot that it was she who had provided the floral material in the first place.

* * *

So preoccupied were James and Sirius, with Quidditch practices and thoughts of females, that both boys completely forgot about their Goblin oppression scrolls for Professor Binns.  
  
As a result, the following History of Magic class was a bit tense. After lecturing for over an hours, Binns hobbled from desk to desk, demanding the parchment they had supposedly completed.  
  
Binns reached Sirius first.  
  
"Where is your parchment Mr. Black?" Binns asked blandly.  
  
Sirius looked up at Binns for a moment, with the look of a cornered animal. Then he burst into very dramatic and very fake tears.  
  
"Oh, don't you know, I can tell what you are about. You are only harassing me because my great great grandfather was a Goblin!" Sirius wailed.  
  
Binns looked nonplussed. "Your scroll, Mr. Black. I need your essay on Goblin oppression."  
  
At this point, Sirius leapt on top of his desk, not for the first time, and proceeded to yell to the class.  
  
"Help! Help! I am being oppressed!" Sirius called wildly.   
  
As usual, James could not resist joining in.  
  
"What do we want?" James cried loudly.  
  
"Freedom!" Sirius answered vehemently.  
  
"When do we want it?" James continued.  
  
"Now!" finished Sirius.  
  
Before long the majority of the class was absorbed in the chant. James noticed that Lily was one of the only ones abstaining. The red head was sitting facing the blackboard with her arms folded tightly across her chest and an irritated expression on her face.  
  
In the end, Binns went with the old standby to restore order. He assigned James, Sirius, Remus and Peter detentions, although Remus and Peter had only been guilty of chanting along with the rest of the class. Still, the fact that they were Marauders seemed enough to warrant punishment.  
  
The task was not a very unpleasant one. They boys were forced to spend the night completely cleaning the Gryffindor common room, without magic. There were a lot of filthy corners to scrub, but it was nothing compared to the dungeons, which James had been compelled to clean with Lily the year before.  
  
The four Marauders were finished around two AM. Remus was in favor of going straight to bed, but the others were still full of energy, even Peter.  
  
"I say we give the girls a little wake up call. I know exactly where the second year girls dorm is, I see Lily going there all the time," Peter blathered.  
  
"Good idea mate," James commended him. "The only thing is… we ought to do the thing properly. Sirius, hand me that bucket of dirty water."  
  
Sirius laughed and peered into the bucket, making a face. "This stuff is perfect. There are heaps of mold in here."  
  
"And spiders," Remus chimed in.  
  
Bucket in hand, James led the way towards the staircase leading up to the girls dorm. The others followed happily. About five steps up, the stairs suddenly collapsed and James and friends found themselves in a pile at the bottom, covered in the slimy contents of the bucket.  
  
The resulting cursing and yelling was enough to send several sleepy looking students out into the hall to laugh and wonder at the fate of the four Marauders. Among them was Marci, who took the opportunity to giggle and blush. James blushed even harder, humiliated that Marci had seen him in such a hopeless position.  
  
"Why do you suppose the stairs did that?" James wondered aloud.  
  
"Oh I forgot about that. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History. The stairs to the girls dormitories are enchanted so as to keep untrustworthy boys away," Remus informed.  
  
"Untrustworthy? Pstah! We are getting in one way or another," insisted Sirius boldly.  
  
In the end, the mishap cost them an extra hour cleaning up, but James and Sirius were determined to finish what they had started. The girls deserved a wake up call, and a wake up call they were going to get.  
  
As none of the Marauders were in possession of any wands, they had a challenge ahead of them. They spent a while trying to get up the stairs at a run, but after numerous failed attempts, the boys were forced to change their strategy.   
  
It was Remus who finally had a stroke of brilliance and darted off, emerging a few minutes later with a thick coil of rope.  
  
"It was in the storage closet with the cleaning supplies. I thought I saw some rope earlier, and I suppose this will make things a great deal easier.  
  
The rope, while valuable in theory, was a hard thing to use effectively.   
  
First James tied one end of the rope in a lasso fashion, and attempted to toss it over a jut in the top of the banister. All of the Marauders had tried it a few times before Sirius finally got the loop secured. The next challenge proved even more difficult. Somehow, all four boys had to climb up the rope and over the banister. Both James and Sirius had an easy time scaling the wall, and Remus got up without too much difficulty. However, Peter couldn't seem to climb more than a foot before loosing his grip and sliding back down the rope.  
  
"My hands are burning something terrible! This rope is an awful idea, it was pure luck that you three got up," Peter complained miserably.  
  
"Let's just leave him, he is obviously not going to make it up in one piece," Sirius sneered. "Besides, we wouldn't want the rope to burn your hands Pete!"  
  
Peter's face turned bright red. James could not tell if the clumsy boy was embarrassed or just angry, but he didn't really want to find out.  
  
"Come on Sirius. We are Marauders. All for one and one for all," James interjected. "Grab on to the rope, Peter, and the three of us will hoist you up. Only be careful not to let go this time or your backside will be awfully sore tomorrow."  
  
It took the strenuous efforts of Remus, Sirius and James to get Peter high enough for him to scramble over. All four boys were panting and sweating by the time he reached the top of the stairwell.  
  
"We did it!" Sirius cried. "Now, to the dormitory!"  
  
"Wait," James sighed, "we forgot the bucket.  
  
Remus pulled a few threads off of his worn hat and declared that whom-so-ever pulled the shortest thread from his fist would have to go down and get it. Peter lost, but it was Remus who ended up actually making the trek down. Deftly, he tied the end of the rope around the bucket and Sirius hoisted it up smoothly, lowering the rope so Remus could rejoin them at the top.  
  
The debate raged for several minutes over which dormitory to hit. Sirius was in favor of the first years, hoping to humiliate Bellatrix, but James vetoed the idea, not wanting Marci to get caught in the turmoil. Finally James and Sirius settled on the second year girls, mostly for the sake of hitting an old target, Lily. James did have a grudge against her, she had bruised his ego by failing to accept his hairy peace offering.  
  
Slyly, Sirius cracked open the door and the boys slid inside silently.  
  
James silently tried to determine which bed was Lily's. He crept from bed to bed, peering through the heavy drapery at each sleeping form. Sirius was in favor of going straight for Brittany, whose bed was by the door, but James insisted on holding out for a certain redhead.  
  
After several tries, James threw open the curtains of the desired bed, revealing a familiar form. He paused for a minute, taking in the redhead's appearance. She did not have her scarf on for once, and her choppy hair was in terrible disarray. Lily's creamy white skin was marred by one glaring imperfection, in the form of a massive bruise that James recognized at Nymphadora's handiwork. Her dark red bedspread was drawn down, revealing one slender shoulder covered in a simple blue nightgown.  
  
James stared dreamily at her for a moment more before he was pulled rapidly from his repose. Sirius, frustrated by his friend's lack of action, had taken it upon himself to toss the bucket of filth on the sleeping girl.  
  
Lily woke with a scream and a wild kick, twisting her soaked comforter and sliding out of bed on to the floor.  
  
"Wake up call!" Sirius called cheerfully.  
  
The red head gasped and continued to struggle to free herself from the oppressively heavy blanket. She coughed and sputtered and finally managed to stand, her wild hair dripping with glorious rays of filth and venom. Taking a moment to comprehend what had just occurred, Lily stared at the filth covering her body. Also in her immediate sight, unfortunately for him, was James. The be-speckled young wizard was covered in grime, almost as badly as she was, although James's was dry.  
  
With a wild war cry, Lily leapt on top of James, her emotions beyond words, and began a wild campaign of fists, claws and kicks that ended only when Remus attempted to pull her from him. When she was finally removed from James's haggard person, Lily was still spitting and hissing, literally reduced to an animal like creature with rage. James was bleeding from the nose.  
  
By this time, the other girls in the dorm had emerged from their domed beds and were watching the spectacle with various degrees of shock, horror and amusement.  
  
When Jackie saw that some of the sludge had sloshed onto her trunk of robes, she ran screaming from the room.  
  
By this time, all of the anger in Lily had drained out, and she simply collapsed to the floor, crying. Dora and Brittany quickly joined her supportively, their loyalty extending to the point of being willing to come into contact with the slime covering their intemperate friend.  
  
James winced once more at the tears and was overcome with a sort of reluctant remorse. "Lily, lighten up… it was just a joke."  
  
Sirius laughed even harder, but James attempted to pat Lily awkwardly on the shoulder with one hand, while nursing his bloody nose with the other hand. The red head quickly slapped his hand away.  
  
"Leave her alone, you jerk!" Brittany cried.  
  
Just then, Jackie returned, toting a sleepy looking Professor Lacy.  
  
One look at the chaos inside the dormitory and Lacy's eyes widened dangerous and all of the tiredness was gone from them.  
  
"What is going on in here? Boys in the girl's dormitory, a mess everywhere, and all the shouting! I would like an explanation!" the professor demanded.  
  
A few minutes later, Lily was left to shower, while her roommates cleaned up the mess.   
  
The Marauders did not get off so easily. James found his nosebleed neglected, as the four guilty wizards were escorted by a livid Professor Lacy to Dumbledore's office to await their fate.  
  
"I never expected this sort of behavior from you four! Certainly you are troublemakers, but this is beyond anything I have ever seen with a Gryffindor. I am ashamed of you! It will be a wonder if you are not all expelled!" the normally patient Professor exclaimed fervently.  
  
Peter started to cry and Sirius kicked him contemptuously. "Stop being a baby," Sirius demanded.  
  
James was too busy trying to hold back the torrent of blood escaping from his nose to defend Peter, and Remus looked as if his world had just crashed down around him. Expelled. The word, once spoken, reverberated in all their heads painfully, adding to the tension.  
  
Finally, they reached a statue that James knew led to Dumbledore's office.   
  
"Licorice Whips," Lacy hissed impatiently, practically shoveling the four boys into the openings.   
  
She left them in the waiting room while she spoke to the Headmaster. James recognized Fawkes the phoenix whom he had met on a previous exploit inside Dumbledore's office. He tried to distract himself by gazing at all of the amusing oddities in the room, but James' mind kept drifting back to the same disquieting thought. He could not help but think about how disappointed John would have been if he had known that James would never graduate from Hogwarts. By the time that Dumbledore and Lacy emerged, James had thoroughly convinced himself of his impending expulsion. 


	32. Book 2 Chapter 10

**Living A Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 10- Punishments and Practices**

* * *

Dumbledore emerged from his inner office clad in a purple fluffy bathrobe and feathered slippers. He looked sternly down at the four Marauders through his black rimmed spectacles, but his apparel was so ridiculous that James couldn't help but be relieved in some degree.  
  
"Well boys, it seems as if you have been causing trouble yet again. I cannot say I do not wish you had waited until daylight to make nuisances of yourselves. It was a bit rude to wake me up at such a ridiculous hour, but I suppose that is the nature of my line of work," he muttered thoughtfully as he settled himself in a large fluffy chair directly across from the boys.  
  
James and Sirius exchanged looks of newfound confidence. Remus still looked a bit queasy and Peter was whimpering sort of pathetically.  
  
"As you well know, breaking into the girls dormitory is a serious crime. Overlooking even the prank that you pulled, it is a major offense. It is very hard for me to let this go with a simple warning. You invaded the privacy and safety of the girls in that dorm, according to school rules. I could expel the four of you easily under the school charter," Dumbledore said gravely.  
  
He looked across at the boys. Dumbledore's normally cheerful eyes had lost their twinkle.  
  
James looked back boldly. Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus looked down with guilt. Peter began to cry.  
  
"However," Dumbledore said loudly, "I am willing to take into account the nature of the infringement. You are twelve year old boys, and it is hard to believe that you entered the girls dormitory with intent that serious harm be done. Yet, the facts remain. I will let each of you explain yourselves before I deal out punishments."  
  
"Honestly Headmaster, we were only having a little joke. It was not a big deal at all. Only we had worked all night and thought that it would be fun to go wake up the girls. Really the bucket was an afterthought. It was just a stupid prank, you can't expel us for a stupid prank!" Sirius blurted out quickly.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, as if considering Sirius's words. Then he turned to James. "What do you think, Mr. Potter?"  
  
"Well, I think we made a mistake, that is all," James said quietly.  
  
Sirius shot James a strange look as if to chastise him for admitting it.  
  
Remus began next, "Professor Dumbledore, I am sorry, we are sorry. It was not a very nice prank at all, I suppose."  
  
"Yes, well," Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Lupin, I am sure was the one who kept things from going any further. And Peter, what have you to say about your actions on this night?"  
  
Peter looked around nervously and finally fixed his eyes on Sirius. "I… I… they made me do it! It was all Sirius's fault! I didn't want to go, I knew it was a bad idea, but they made me. They said that if I didn't go they would not be friends with me anymore, honest, Headmaster!"  
  
Dumbledore glared down at Peter for a moment more, sadly shaking his head. "It is never a good things to betray your friends, and deny your own part," he whispered softly. "That aside, I can see that tonight's incident was nothing more than a prank gone bad. Still, such a transgression cannot go unpunished."  
  
"More detentions?" Sirius asked calmly.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Black, more detentions. Each of you will serve seven detentions, each night this week," Dumbledore proclaimed.  
  
"But, we will miss Quidditch practice!" James protested suddenly.  
  
At the same time Sirius called out, "That's not fair! We will miss Quidditch!"  
  
"Ah," Dumbledore acknowledged, "That is a problem. Then again, it is the nature of punishment to deny us what we want."  
  
The boys left the office grumbling, Sirius kept shooting Peter dirty looks.

* * *

It was hard for Brittany to decide who was more of a disaster. Jackie was having fits over her ruined clothing, and Lily was crying as Dora picked spiders and mold out of her short hair. Accordingly, Brittany was the one who was left to clean up the mess. Even with her wand to assist her, there seemed an abundance of disgusting things clinging to the walls, the blankets and the people in the room. It took a great deal of wand waving to even begin to clean it up.

* * *

At breakfast, the four girls were in very bad shape. Lily confided to Bellatrix, who was very sympathetic.  
  
"Those boys are awful!" Bellatrix exclaimed, "I swear, Sirius has to be the worst cousin I have, though it is a close call between he and Nymphadora."  
  
"I feel so sorry for you Bella, to have cousins like that. There were times when I almost saw them as human beings. But now, I realize how terrible they really are. I am so glad we are friends now, we can talk about how much we hate them together," Lily confided.  
  
Brittany and Dora enjoyed the opportunity to fume also. Only Jackie, as upset as she was over her ruined wardrobe, did not eagerly sympathize with Bellatrix. Something about the dark haired first year did not seem right to Jackie.

* * *

Roderick was furious when James and Sirius sadly explained their plans for missing a week of practice.   
  
"I can't believe that one week into the Quidditch season the two of you are already putting practice second! Is some stupid prank really worth more than the Gryffindor team?" Roderick asked in frustration.   
  
James simply shook his head sheepishly, avoiding eye-contact with the famous Quidditch player.  
  
"Your problem is really with Professor Dumbledore, you know," Sirius insisted. "He could have scheduled our detentions around Quidditch, like we asked, but he doesn't seem to appreciate the sport at all."  
  
Roderick grinned menacingly, and both Sirius and James began to feel a little nervous.  
  
"Luckily, there is a way for you two to compensate," Roderick added in a pleasant tone.  
  
"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.  
  
The Quidditch captain only smiled.

* * *

"This," Sirius insisted, "is crap."  
  
James nodded sleepily and shivered.  
  
The two boys stood half frozen on the Quidditch green, fully clothed with brooms in hand. The sky was dark above them, not a single star glittered above them.  
  
"We spend half the night getting rid of doxies in the greenhouses. Half an hour of sleep later, here we stand on a dark, cold Quidditch field at the request of Charles, who by the way is nowhere in sight!" Sirius continued angrily.  
  
"Four o'clock in the morning is much to early for me to be awake. I swear, the half hour of sleep only made it worse," James added.  
  
"I'm going to kill Roderick!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly. "It is so bleeding cold! What's worse we haven't had a sight of our wonderful Quidditch hero. Do you know what I think, mate, I say the Roderick is a bloody prat!"   
  
"Bloody prat or not, I must ask why the two of you are still standing about on the ground. Quidditch is generally played in the air. Practicing on foot does not seem to be doing you much good," Roderick said, coming out suddenly from the darkness.  
  
Sirius cursed loudly, but James only dragged his sleepy self onto his broom.  
  
"We are going to begin this morning's practice with an agility exercise. Sirius, I want you to weave between the poles of the hoops on the far end of the field. Go as quickly as you can without crashing into the poles. If you go fast enough I will let you go in time for breakfast. James, you will do the same on the other set of poles. Do not be lazy, I want to see you going quickly, it might be harder than you think.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, hoping rather for some actual practice with bludgers, but sped off towards the poles with haste. James, invigorated simply by mounting his broom, was content with the excursive, any sort of flying was welcome to him.  
  
Sirius's confidence faded very quickly when he found that weaving between the poles was not quite as simple as he had believed. Though he could fly very fast, he was not used to having to use accuracy when turning. The result was catastrophic.  
  
Roderick was extremely amused to hear Sirius crashing repeatedly into the metal poles, cursing loudly as he went.   
  
On the other end of the field, James was having much better luck. One would have thought that he was a natural, compared to Sirius's clumsy blundering and frequent falls. It had taken James a few tries to realize just the right way to turn so that he avoided the column and still maintained his speed, but once he figured it out he was golden.  
  
After giving Sirius several pointers, and shouting encouragement, Roderick flew across the field to James, flying close beside him on his loops.  
  
"James, I am quite impressed. I never knew your brother, but from what I have been told, he was an amazing seeker. He would be proud of you, for you are certainly living up to his legend," John called to him, while in the air.  
  
James swallowed hard, a bit uncomfortable with hearing John's name thrown about. Yet, he knew that Roderick had not meant to infringe. Most of the time he was okay with the fact that his brother was gone, but at times he still became overwhelmed with grief.  
  
He fought against the desire to react and only leaned forward on his broomstick to fly faster. 


	33. Book 2 Chapter 11

**Living In Legend  
Book 2- The Price of Glory  
Chapter 11- Romance and Reactions**

* * *

With all of the Marauders thoroughly exhausted from their numerous extracurricular pursuits, Lily and her friends found themselves enjoying a peaceful week.  
  
Lily had been spending more and more time with Bellatrix. The two of them had become almost inseparable in their dislike of the Marauders.  
  
One afternoon, Bellatrix and Lily were sitting down by the lake and enjoying autumns few retreating gleams of sunlight.  
  
Bellatrix had been slyly warming up Lily with sly compliments and false sympathy when she sprung a sudden question.  
  
"Lily, have you ever had a boyfriend?" She asked in a strange tone.  
  
Lily blushed, her perspective of the opposite sex had only just begun to change. She still despised the majority of the boys she met.  
  
"Well, no, not exactly," Lily answered shyly.  
  
Bellatrix smiled coyly, "Well, why ever not?"  
  
"I don't know. All of the boys in our year are so immature and annoying. Why would I want one of them for a boyfriend? That would be ridiculous. We hate them!" Lily exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, well, there are other boys out there then the ones in our year. Real boys, older boys," Bellatrix coaxed.  
  
"I suppose so," Lily sighed, not really caring much for the topic of conversation. Her only romantic experience had involved her secret admirer, and as it turned out he had actually been trying to kill her. It was not exactly a happy memory.  
  
"And I," Bellatrix continued, "know a secret."  
  
Lily raised here eyebrows, suddenly curious.   
  
"What secret?" she asked eagerly.  
  
Bellatrix averted her eyes. "I am not supposed to tell you, but I know someone who fancies you quite a bit. I believe he said that you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen!"  
  
"Who?" Lily asked impatiently.  
  
"Well, I can't tell you!" Bellatrix said indignantly.  
  
"Oh, please! You cannot tell me so much and not give me a name to work with!" Lily yelled.  
  
Bellatrix raised a finger. "Calm down, I will tell you, but you cannot tell a soul that I did."  
  
"I promise not to tell."  
  
Leaning forward, Bellatrix whispered the name in Lily's ear.  
  
"Oliver Crabbe!" Lily screamed.  
  
Bellatrix promptly hushed her, looking about nervously to make sure that none had overheard.  
  
"But he is a Slytherin, and a fifth year!" Lily protested.  
  
"I am a Slytherin too, what is wrong with that? Anyway, older is better, trust me. Oliver is cute, and so mature. He likes you a lot," Bellatrix encouraged her quietly.  
  
"I have never even talked to him. I only know who he is because I have seen in at mealtimes and in the halls. How can he like me?" Lily questioned skeptically.  
  
Bellatrix patted Lily's shoulder reassuringly. "Darling, boys do not like girls because they know them. Boys like girls because of their looks. He thinks you are pretty. That is all there is to it."  
  
Lily nodded, puzzled but flattered.

* * *

The Marauders finished up their detentions at the end of the week and were very exhausted. James and Sirius were the most haggard of the group, for in addition to staying up late for their detentions, they had been rising early to go to their morning practices with Roderick. Several times they had not slept at all. The two Quidditch players were extremely happy that they would be able to join the rest of the team for their regular evening practices. Still, both boys had gained increased respect for Roderick, who had subjected himself to the early hours during their detentions as well.  
  
The pressure was increased for them also, because their first Quidditch game was to take place within a matter of days. Though neither boy would admit it, both were terrified about their first time in a real match. They had both grown up on brooms, and thanks to the Potter family had the best that money could buy, but everything was uncertain until the first match came about.  
  
The match was against Hufflepuff, and as such Roderick was not too worried, having seen the team practice. He still insisted on double practices to make sure that all the team members were ready for the first game.  
  
Sirius and James both excelled at most aspects of practice. Their beater skills were getting better all the time. With Roderick's expertise, they were able to perfect things they never had even practiced before.  
  
Sirius still had troubles with Roderick's agility drills. It was very common for him to crash into poles and people in many of the new captain's confusing exercises. Still, Roderick insisted that Sirius was in the perfect position, because beaters could get by often on brute strength alone. Sirius had good aim with a bludger as well, so he was a double threat.  
  
James found that while he could make a bludger find it's target with ease, his strokes were not a powerful as his friends. He was more adept at positioning himself perfectly.  
  
Either way, it was not the beaters that Roderick worried about. Every person on the team was doing wonderfully, except the new seeker.  
  
As there had been no outstanding candidates for the seeker position at tryouts, the spot had gone to a fifth year boy named Scottie Weathershot. Scottie was, delicately put, a bit over his ideal weight. He was also not exactly in the best athletic condition, and to top it off it was seeming that his eyesight was nothing to be bragged about either.  
  
Throughout all of the practices since tryouts, each day the snitch had been released. Scottie had failed to catch it even once. Every time Roderick had been forced to go after it himself, sometimes even using a spell to retrieve it.  
  
One of the chasers, a new girl named Molly, was extraordinary, however. Louis Armand, the other chaser was, though not wonderful, pretty good. Roderick was counting on the chasers to score many points with the quaffle. He himself, along with Sirius and James would try to keep Hufflepuff from scoring any points of their own.  
  
Practices grew in intensity as the game approached and all of the team members began to see Roderick's aggressive side.   
  
"We cannot lose our first game!" he would exclaim quite often, with a threatening tone.  
  
"Great, that does not add any pressure at all," James would answer sarcastically.

* * *

"I really don't know about this, Bella," Lily protested. "He is too old for me and I've never really even met him!"  
  
"Nonsense Lily, he really likes you! Anyway, it is not like you have any other boys after you. A girl has to take what she can get. Trust me, he is the best that you can do." Bellatrix urged. "Now hold still so I can finish your hair. You date is in three hours and I want you to look good!"  
  
Lily could feel the butterflies mounting in her stomach. When Bellatrix had announced that she had set up a date between Lily and Oliver for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, Lily had been excited to go. Bellatrix promised that Oliver knew a way to sneak Lily into the village.  
  
Now, with the date only hours away, Lily was feeling very nervous. She was supposed to meet him near the statue of Gregory the Smarmy on the third floor.  
  
When Bellatrix was satisfied with Lily's appearance, she returned to common room, leaving Lily to ponder herself in the mirror.  
  
She looked a whole different person, with her hair restored to it's ordinary length and arranged in an elegant up do. Bellatrix had given Lily a potion from her mother that grew hair in a short period of time. Four hours after drinking the foul concoction, Lily's hair problems had been solved. She wore the same robes, but for the first time in her life she was wearing makeup. What remained of her bruised nose had been covered beneath layers of Bellatrix's foundation.  
  
Lily touched her hair delicately over and over again, hardly convinced that it was really back. It was as if her ongoing nightmare had finally ended.  
  
Jackie walked into the dorm in time to see Lily admiring herself.  
  
"Oh honey, your hair is back!" Jackie rejoiced happily, touching Lily's curls gingerly.  
  
"Yes, Bellatrix gave me a potion to restore it. She said that I couldn't look so scrappy for my date," Lily explained happily.  
  
"You have a date?" Jackie gushed enthusiastically.  
  
Lily nodded. "Bellatrix set me up with Oliver Crabbe. He is going to sneak me into Hogsmeade, since I am too young to go."  
  
"Oliver Crabbe?" Jackie asked warily. "He is cute enough, but he is a fifth year! Too old for you!"  
  
Lily shrugged. "Bellatrix said that older is better."  
  
"Oh, listen to you," Jackie sneered suddenly. "Bellatrix said this, Bellatrix said that! I do not trust that girl an inch. If I were you I would not go on this date. You can do better than a Slytherin, honey."  
  
"Jackie! You are just jealous! How dare you say such a thing? Bellatrix is a very nice girl, she has done nothing but nice things to you. You have no right to judge people based on their house!" Lily cried, offended.  
  
"I am not judging her based on her house, but based on herself. She does strange things sometimes. Like when Nymphadora punched you, back on the train, she smiled! Does that sound like something a friend would do?" Jackie retorted.  
  
"Oh, don't be ridiculous Jackie! I can't believe you would talk about her behind her back like this. She would never say anything bad about you! I do not want to talk with you anymore if all you are going to do is insult Bellatrix," Lily answered, walking towards the door.  
  
"Wait Lily," Jackie called, "I'm sorry. I am not trying to insult her but… just be careful! Okay?"

* * *

Lily reached the statue five minutes early. It was not exactly her nature to be late for anything.  
  
Oliver, on the other hand, arrived at the destination ten minutes late. Lily did not really notice. She was distracted by the fact that he towered over her so much. It seemed sort of strange to be going on her first date with someone who was at least a foot taller than her.  
  
"Lily, you look good, just like a lily," Oliver said intelligently with a clumsy laugh.  
  
Lily blushed and blurted out a quick thanks.  
  
"So, how exactly are we going to get to Hogsmeade?" Lily asked skeptically.  
  
Oliver smiled and tapped Gregory the Smarmy in the nose with his wand. Instantly the statue swung around to reveal an opening in the floor.  
  
"Dive in, Lily the lily!" He called happily, pointing towards the hole.  
  
Timidly, Lily approached the opening and gingerly lowered herself into it, wishing that he had volunteered to go first into the mysterious darkness below.  
  
The journey lasted about twenty minutes. During the walk Oliver entertained her with such witty comments as, "I drank four gallons of milk once, then I threw up."  
  
By the time they actually entered daylight, Lily had to admit to herself that Oliver's repertoire was not very impressive. She was only twelve years old, but could easily consider herself more witty than he.  
  
"Where are we going?" Lily finally asked.  
  
"I am taking you on a date," Oliver answered wisely.  
  
"Yes, but I mean where?" she laughed.  
  
Oliver looked puzzled and Lily realized that he had not meant the comment as a joke.  
  
"On a date," he repeated earnestly.  
  
Lily nodded and decided it best not to ask again. Instead she walked in silence letting him dominate the conversation with his astute comments.  
  
The destination question was solved when he led her into the joke shop.  
  
Lily turned up her nose. The place reminded her of James and the other Marauders. Somehow the situation did not seem at all romantic. Still, Bellatrix's voice reverberated in the back of her head. "He is the best you can do!" Lily shrugged and tried to convince herself that Oliver was being romantic.  
  
That illusion was quickly shattered when he released a dung bomb right under her nose and then burst into uncontrollable laughter. Lily coughed and stepped back in disgust.  
  
Lily felt like the date could not get any worse, when through the door waltzed James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.  
  
James froze in the doorway and stared at Lily in consternation.  
  
"Could you stare any harder," Lily hissed.  
  
James shook his head, "Lily, I have never seen you looking so… Wow! Your hair is back!"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Why are you here? Second years cannot come to Hogsmeade."   
  
James shrugged. We are Marauders, remember? We have our ways. The real question is what is a loser like you doing here? You never could have figured it out yourself."  
  
Lily was spared the task of answering when Oliver waddled over and thrust himself between them. "Let's go get some butterbeer. I'll pay."  
  
"Yes, let's get out of here now!" Lily replied.  
  
Then she turned to James. "For your information, I am here on a date."  
  
Sirius laughed and made numerous jokes with this new information, but James simply shook his head in wonder, staring at the familiar redhead as she disappeared in the distance. She looked so different next to the hulking fifth year.  
  
"What a stupid bloke! We ought to pull something on him next!" James exclaimed to the other Marauders.  
  
Remus cocked his head in surprise. "Who, Crabbe?"  
  
"Yes Crabbe!" James yelled a bit too loudly. "What does Lily think she is doing hanging out with all of those Slytherins?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't get so worked up, mate. People are starting to stare at you. You're beginning to take the attention away from me!" 


End file.
